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Vol 48 No 22

Published 2nd November 2007


South Africa

Shooting the messenger

One thing unites the factions in the bitter infighting for the succession in the governing African National Congress: they all hate the media

After the toughest weeks of his presidency, Thabo Mbeki basked in the national euphoria generated by the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup victory over England in Paris. He used the triumph to portray himself as a unifying leader, rising above the arguments about whether the team was black enough. He was regularly photographed with the rugby players and in their strip, grabbing the opportunity to emphasise that his government was making progress in meeting the basic needs of poor people.

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