Abstract: | The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a major force within the ANC on paper, but is increasingly proving to be a paper tiger. Communists account for a quarter of the ANC members in parliament, almost a fifth of the full cabinet. Communists comprise a clear majority in the cabinet or executive council of Gauteng, South Africa's richest province. Moreover, most SACP Central Committee members serve in the ANC's national executive committee. However, inside the SACP the suspicion exists that, far from manipulating the ANC from within, the SACP is subsumed by the ANC, which has adopted neoliberal strategies such as privatization as its main policy. The SACP rank and file are disappointed that loyalty of SACP members in government to the ANC apparently supersedes their allegiance to the party. The SACP dare not press its objections to the ANC policies too hard for fear of provoking a split in its own ranks. The growing Africanism associated with Mbeki, who has dissociated himself from the SACP, recalls the black nationalist anti-communism of the past. The SACP will have to traverse a knife-edge between the fear of losing the ANC's protection and forfeiting its position as the party of the workers to rival organizations. However, in the long run it must fend for itself in the political arena. Bibliogr., sum. |