A vision, and a sense of style . . . Could Pik Botha finally be the future of the Nats?
"He really should be shot, but the world would be a poorer place without him," I said of Pik Botha some years ago.
With a whimper rather than a bang, Frederik "FW" de Klerk resigned as leader of the National Party this week.
In doing so, he confirmed what I and many others had said when his party resigned from the Government of National Unity last year; that with a generally competent ANC government committed to economic development and fiscal responsibility at the reins, the Nats would struggle to find any platform of substance.
Sure enough, the ANC has held the country together. Surveys have since shown the Nats' support base continuing to erode, and De Klerk — rather than go down with a sinking ship — has chosen to resign.
It was a cowardly action. The appropriate time to have done so would have been when Roelf Meyer was pushing steadfastly for a new sense of vision within the party.
A resignation then by De Klerk would have allowed the hardliners backed by Western Cape Premier Hernus Kriel to go head-to-head with Roelf's visionaries on an even footing.
Instead, De Klerk backed the hardliners, and then snuck off, tail between his legs — not unlike a military commander leading his troops to a minefield, asking them to cross, and remaining behind to seek a safer path himself.
Kriel's actions have been no less cowardly. Having pushed the party firmly in the direction of conservative intransigence and successfully engineered the ostracising of Roelf Meyer, he himself declined the leadership role, choosing instead the comfort zone of heading the provincial government.
Silly. Central government and local government are real sources of power because they control their own funding, one by taxes, the other by ratepayers. Provincial governments are mere administrators funded by the State.
But back to Pik Botha. South Africa's longest-serving minister may well have become leader of the National Party had he not been crazy enough to suggest that South Africa would one day have a black president.
The idea so outraged the party faithful of the John Vorster generation that he was given a public dressing-down. Left to defend the indefensible to the rest of the world as Foreign Affairs Minister, he nevertheless carried out his job with consummate style.
Only Pik could pull off a photo opportunity riding a camel in Egypt. Only Pik could share his personal recipe for potjiekos as his contribution to cultural cross-pollination.
When the Nats shot themselves in the foot by resigning from the GNU, Pik wisely chose not to follow, and withdrew from politics.
Now, he has announced his readiness to lead the party into the next century, on certain conditions. These include a party commitment to return to the GNU, to change itself fundamentally and to co-operate fully with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
These conditions are reasonable, and overdue. In order to build credibility, the Nats need to come clean before the TRC. De Klerk's "I knew nothing" stance was ridiculous.
More importantly, Pik has recognised that the role of the party should not be simply anti-ANC, but instead focus on positives — the need for job provision, fast economic growth, a war against crime, and preparing the country for the information era.
This country needs an opposition that realises that building the country is more important than toppling the ANC.
Pik's sentiments are praiseworthy. I wish him luck.