In a province long characterised by political volatility, no party can afford rigid posturing that ultimately undermines service delivery, governance continuity and public confidence. Given that the government of provincial unity (GPU), composed of the IFP, ANC, DA and the NFP, was born out of necessity rather than ideological alignment, KZN citizens expect the same spirit that in June last year led to foes joining forces, to shape the attitude of the coalition parties when it comes to the possibility of bringing in a new partner such as the EFF. After the fiercely contested 2024 provincial elections produced no outright winner, the four-party coalition offered KZN a semblance of stability at a moment when the province stood at risk of leadership paralysis.
The GPU’s formation was never about friendship or shared political philosophy; it was about ensuring that KZN did not become a casualty of fragmentation. For that reason alone, ideological purism becomes a luxury the province cannot afford. The coalition’s survival rests on the ability of its constituent parties to bend where necessary, compromise where appropriate and recognise that their individual preferences are secondary to collective governance.
This has become sharper in recent weeks as tensions emerged within the coalition, most notably following NFP president Ivan Barnes’s indication that his party, which holds a single but crucial seat in the 80-member KZN Legislature, is reconsidering jumping out of the GPU wagon and joining forces with the MK Party. While the departure of one seat spells the end of the GPU in its current form, it does not mean the end of the GPU. In any coalition, numbers matter, and in KZN the numbers offer a simple but compelling message: Unless the coalition partners are prepared to broaden their horizons and reassess earlier hard positions, the GPU may not survive the departure of the NFP.
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What is also important is that such reassessment cannot exclude the possibility of bringing the EFF into the fold. Understandably, this suggestion invokes discomfort, particularly within the DA, which has long rejected the prospect of working with the EFF or the MK Party.
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