Latest news with #government
Mail & Guardian
10 minutes ago
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
Editorial: The GNU survives a year
There has been nothing remarkable about the government of national unity's first year in office, but the steadying of the ship has been invaluable. Photo: GCIS It was with great curiosity that we read ActionSA's GNU One Year Assessment this week. The project, a not-so-subtle rip-off of the Mail & Guardian's cabinet report cards, rated the government of national unity's key performance metrics on a scale of A to F. (As you might expect, most leaned towards the latter). These are not objective scores, of course — as you well know. Still, the marketing effort gets a passing mark for its creativity and contribution to democratic discourse. The GNU's actual performance over the past year is not neatly measurable. The uninspired leadership is easy to scrutinise. With the exception of some flickers of business optimism, the government of the last year has largely carried on the legacy of President Cyril Ramaphosa's first term. That is to say, a dispensation that strangled hopes of Ramaphoria early on. There is little immediate effect on people's lives — South Africa remains deeply divided and faces economic uncertainty. There is an argument, however, that the steadying of the ship has been invaluable. Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen is always quick to point out that his party slipped under the sheets of leadership with the ANC to prevent a doomsday scenario. Although we have been critical of such party-first rhetoric, the rivals he has warned about have done well to prove his point. It has not been a good year for the Economic Freedom Fighters. A poor electoral performance has led to discord and a subsequent hollowing-out of key members (some might say that a purge of rivals is a more appropriate framing). Their once-upon-a-time role as disruptors of a stale political system is now buried. One of those leaders, Floyd Shivambu, has occupied the headlines this week as his falling-out with the uMkhonto weSizwe party continues to play out publicly. The episode is consistent with a turbulent organisation that has failed to distinguish itself from a cult of personality. By contrast, the GNU has miraculously remained intact. The budget debacle has threatened, differing ideologies have simmered, but clear heads have always prevailed. That was desperately needed at the infamous White House meeting last month — a notable success in retrospect. The uncomfortable obsequiousness of our leaders notwithstanding, the co-ordinated message on key issues such as crime allowed South Africa to ride out its fevered moment under the international spotlight. As uncertainty grips the world, it is imperative that we continue to walk with a unified purpose. But stability will only take us so far. The GNU must now begin to think more creatively on how it will solve the country's social ills. Failure to do so will earn it an F on anybody's report card next year.
Bloomberg
38 minutes ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
MSCI Signals South Korea Has More Work to Do to Win an Upgrade
Global index provider MSCI Inc. signaled that South Korea's bid to secure an upgrade to developed-market status continues to face several impediments, even as it lauded efforts by the nation's authorities to improve market access and implement currency reforms. There is need for progress in areas such as ease of capital flows, information flow as well as market structure, according to the New York-based firm's latest annual market accessibility review. It changed South Korea's short-selling rating to a plus from minus after the government ended a controversial ban on the popular trading strategy that was seen hindering market access.
CTV News
an hour ago
- Business
- CTV News
PBO Yves Giroux on whether the government is on track to meet its fiscal targets
Politics Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux explains why it is difficult to assess the government's projected operating budget.
CNA
an hour ago
- Politics
- CNA
Thai PM to meet army commander to defuse political crisis
BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will on Friday (Jun 20) visit an army commander she called an "opponent" in a leaked phone call as she battles to defuse a crisis threatening to topple her government. The 38-year-old leader, in office for less than a year, was forced to make a public apology on Thursday as anger flared over the call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen that appeared online. Her main coalition partner, the conservative Bhumjaithai party, pulled out on Wednesday saying she had insulted the country and the army, putting her government on the point of collapse. There was better news for Paetongtarn, daughter of controversial billionaire ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, on Friday as another important coalition partner, the conservative Democrat Party, pledged to stay. "The Democrat Party will remain in the government to help resolve the challenges the country is currently facing," the party said in a statement. Another coalition party, Chartthaipattana, said late on Thursday that it would not withdraw, after urgent talks on the crisis with the Democrats and the United Thai Nation (UTN) party. With the departure of Bhumjaithai, the government led by Paetongtarn's Pheu Thai party now holds a razor-thin majority in parliament. Losing another major partner would likely see the government collapse, plunging the kindgom into fresh political instability as it grapples with a stuttering economy and US President Donald Trump's threatened trade tariffs. APOLOGY Paetongtarn will travel to Thailand's northeast on Friday to patch things up with Lieutenant General Boonsin Padklang, the commander of the forces in northeast Thailand, where the border clashes took place. She referred to Boonsin as her "opponent" in the leaked call with Hun Sen, in which the two leaders discussed the ongoing border dispute. Thailand has formally protested to Cambodia about the leak, calling it a breach of diplomatic protocol that had damaged trust between the two sides. Paetongtarn was criticised as being weak and deferential in the call with Hun Sen, a veteran politician known as a wily operator, but her comments about the army commander were potentially the most damaging to her. Thailand's armed forces have long played a powerful role in the kingdom's politics and politicians are usually careful not to antagonise them. When she made her public apology for the leaked call on Thursday, Paetongtarn did so standing in front of army and police chiefs, in a show of unity. There were small street protests on Thursday and calls from across the political spectrum for her to quit or announce an election, but her apology and backing from some of her coalition partners appear to have shored up her position for now. But with a tiny majority she remains vulnerable, not least because of the awkward nature of her coalition. Paetongtarn took office in August last year at the head of an uneasy alliance between Pheu Thai and a group of conservative, pro-military parties whose members have spent much of the past 20 years battling against her father. Thaksin, twice elected PM, was thrown out in a military coup in 2006, and the bitter tussle between the conservative, royalist establishment and the political movement he founded has dominated Thai politics throughout that time. Former Manchester City owner Thaksin, 75, still enjoys huge support from the rural base whose lives he transformed with populist policies in the early 2000s.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Anwar flip-flops on petrol subsidy cuts, leaving Malaysians spinning wheels
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim sparked confusion as he rowed back on long-threatened plans to slash petrol subsidies just days before the cuts were expected to take effect. Anwar has faced growing public pushback on concerns over rising living costs as his cash-strapped administration pursues plans to drop blanket subsidies on petrol and impose fresh taxes on imported goods like apples and cod. But on Thursday, the prime minister said that the government would no longer raise the price of the subsidised RON95 grade petrol after all – even if there was a sharp increase in global crude oil prices caused by the air war between Israel and Iran. 'We are not increasing fuel prices,' he was quoted as saying by national newswire Bernama. (From left) Petronas Chief Executive Officer Tengku Muhammad Taufik, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and S&P Global Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin launch the Energy Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Photo: AFP Malaysians were not convinced by Anwar's assurance, with many taking to social media to question the leader's shifting positions on the planned subsidy cuts. 'Why do [you] not do as you say and have it looming over our heads?' read a comment on X to a post on Anwar's latest statement, highlighting the uncertainty felt by the public over their finances.
