South African politics have changed tremendously over the last few decades. Apartheid began in South Africa in 1948 but that collapsed in 1994. Apartheid (which is an Afrikaans word meaning separateness) basically meant that blacks and colored faced severe racial discrimination as well as total segregation by law. This was set up by the country’s National Party government and meant that the whites had minority rule. But 1994 signaled the start of a new era with South Africa’s first democratic election. While this has had its advantages, day-to-day life can be extremely volatile for the whites since without the segregation of so many decades, there is constantly the threat of violence from the non-whites. On the plus side, the economy has emerged as being “one of the most flourishing in the world.” As well, since 1994, the National Congress Government has created various policies as a way of developing its economy. The republic’s annual growth rate is around 3.3% but it still suffers in its health sector, being home to the largest amount of HIV patients in the world. As well, despite its economic prominence, half of its population lives under the poverty line. People blame this on the republic’s political situation.
Following the resulting Hung Parliament from Great Britain’s recent election, members of the Liberal Democrat Party are attempting to find ways to preserve their voice in Parliament. The concern among those in the Party is that by joining with the Conservative Party, they will lose their voice “at a national level.” What is expected to happen amongst the leadership is that pressure will mount from those seeking Liberal Democrat spokespeople being appointed for “all portfolio areas where the party does not have a minister in government.” In these areas, it is “absolutely crucial the Lib Dem distinctive voice….is made clear and that we are afforded that right on the basis we don’t have a minister,” insisted Colchester MP Bob Russell. Only time will tell how this pans out for the Liberal Democrats and what voice will ultimately win on the House of Commons ground.
The British are notorious for their unruly behavior at football matches. So much so, that it has now gotten to the point where the government minister for crime prevention, James Brokenshire has “begged England fans to behave well during the forthcoming World Cup.” Apparently, Minister Brokenshire has gone a step further than his plea and has taken “drastic steps to stop the worst football hooligans to South Africa.”
Since it seems like the British people simply couldn’t make up their collective minds, the aftermath of the UK’s recent election results has the country n a bit of a mess. What happened with the national elections was that no single party won a clear overall majority. This means that forming a government is not going to be as straightforward as it usually is. This situation has not occurred in Britain for nearly 40 years.
Even if you are the kind of person who sees yourself as totally apolitical, on some level, you are involved in politics, whether you like it or not. Of course, we’re talking here of politics with a small p. That can cover anything from where you buy your fruit to how you feel about God or the lack thereof of an omnipresent being. You don’t have to be an expert on Obama – or even have an opinion on the guy – to be political. At least, that is the case with small p politics.