Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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09CAPETOWN33 | 2009-02-17 09:54:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | Consulate Cape Town |
1. (SBU) Summary: The Congress of the People (COPE) has yet to decide upon a presidential candidate for the election and increasingly is focusing its efforts on Eastern Cape and Limpopo, according to party National Spokesman Philip Dexter. Dexter met with members of the diplomatic corps on February 10 in Cape Town. Saying that the party has been in a "holding pattern" since its manifesto launch, he conceded that true campaigning would begin once the election date is announced. (Note: President Kgalema Motlanthe announced on February 10 that the election would take place on April 22. End Note.) He said that there are many uncertainties ahead of the election, including parts of the country COPE can expect to perform well in and who will be the face of the party when "true campaigning" begins. End Summary. -------------------------- "We Must Wait and See" -------------------------- 2. (SBU) COPE National Spokesman Philip Dexter met with members of the diplomatic corps at an informal luncheon on February 10 in Cape Town. Dexter told the guests that the party is focusing its attention now on "winning areas it can win such as Eastern Cape and Limpopo." He acknowledged that it is difficult to know where COPE can do well given the lack of reliable polling. The best polling data he has seen comes from an "unnamed political party" that projects the African National Congress (ANC) to win 52 percent of vote. However, Dexter asserted that the party,s strength in Eastern Cape is "self-evident" given its well-attended manifesto launch in Port Elizabeth last month. He projected that the party could seriously weaken the ANC in the province or could win the province outright. (Note: His estimation of strength in Eastern Cape may be optimistic given the ANC,s strength in the province. See Reftel for more information. End Note.) 3. (SBU) Dexter related that in Limpopo the "ANC has serious problems." He said that there are fundamental divisions within ANC branches in the province that should lead to permanent breaks in coming weeks. He noted, "There are breaks that are coming. The divorces that will happen in that province will be messy, but they will come sooner rather than later." He stated that COPE should do well in the province because of such turmoil. As for the other provinces, Dexter noted that "we have all but given up on KwaZulu Natal." He said that it has been very difficult for the party to make inroads there. He projected that the party would do well in Western Cape and Northern Cape, but said attaining an outright majority in either province would be "unrealistic." When asked by the French Ambassador whether COPE would consider coalitions in either province, Dexter said that "right now the party is looking only to win." He did say later on at the luncheon that COPE probably would not consider alliances with the ANC or with the Democratic Alliance. He noted that an alliance with the ANC would "kill" COPE and an alliance with the DA would signal that the party is supporting divisions along racial lines. (Note: Dexter did not speak to how well COPE could do in any of the other provinces. End Note.) 4. (SBU) Dexter said the party has yet to decide who will be its face for the election. He noted, "I can,t imagine that there will be any surprises so you know it will be either (COPE President Mosioua) Lekota or (COPE Deputy President Mbhazima) Shilowa." Dexter said that who emerges as the presidential candidate will be up to the party,s branches and that the party probably would announce its presidential candidate next week. He said former Deputy President Qcandidate next week. He said former Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka would formally declare her allegiance to COPE "soon," but did not consider her a viable candidate to be the party,s presidential candidate. He also noted that there would be more defections in coming weeks by ANC leaders "whose futures are no longer with the organization." -------------------------- On the South African Communist Party -------------------------- 5. (SBU) Dexter, once National Treasurer of the South African Communist Party (SACP) before defecting to COPE, offered a few comments on the organization. Describing himself as a Marxist but "not a stupid Marxist," Dexter described an SACP that is in serious trouble. He noted that the organization,s claim of having 80,000 members is completely untrue. SACP has only 12,000 members, according to figures he collected and collated before he left. He asked, "How can SACP claim that members are willing to give their lives to socialism while they are unwilling to pay a monthly membership fee?" He noted that had SACP left the alliance and contested elections on its own ahead of the 2006 CAPE TOWN 00000033 002 OF 002 local election, the party would today be a force in South African politics. However, he said that the decision to stay in the alliance and support ANC President Jacob Zuma was a "strategic blunder" because it means the organization is no longer a "fulcrum of ideas in South Africa." -------------------------- Comment -------------------------- 6. (SBU) Dexter,s commentary shows that COPE is in a holding pattern as it faces uncertainty over how well it will perform in the election and who will be the party,s presidential candidate. Several members of the diplomatic corps remarked in muffled tones that the party seems to have lost momentum following its manifesto launch and the way COPE is handling its leadership situation and its campaign thus far suggest the party has work to do to pick up steam. Defections from leaders such as Mlambo-Ngcuka and others may give COPE a boost, but the party,s intention to focus on pre-selected targets such as Eastern Cape and Limpopo may make such a boost insufficient to supplant the ANC. MAYBERRY |