Hermann Pretorius
Hermann Pretorius studied law and opera before entering politics and, latterly, joining the IRR as an analyst. He is presently the IRR’s Head of Strategic Communications. He describes himself as a Protestant, landless, Anglophilic, Afrikaans classical liberal.
Articles By This Author
An ignominious suicide: the ANC on death watch
Political parties that dominate a society for decades tend to assume their grip will last indefinitely. Yet history shows how quickly power can crumble. In
Could Trump’s America outbid Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran for a stake in the ANC?
The ANC is broke. Not cash-strapped, not merely struggling, but structurally bankrupt. Salaries go unpaid and unpaid debts pile up. Yet the party now faces
What the DA can learn from Ramaphosa
I was opposed to the formation of the GNU. In fact, in the post-election weeks of June 2024, I lobbied quite aggressively against the DA
Poverty, predators, and policy: the true horror of joblessness and vulnerability
The vulnerability of joblessness manifests in ways most of us can hardly imagine. In South Africa, unemployment is most often discussed through statistics and economic
Fatal grip: how ANC’s intransigent coalition logic is driving it to oblivion
From as early as the 1980s, the ANC has exhibited a reflex of treating any broad coalition or unity front as an extension of itself,
Substantive pro-growth transformation up for grabs as a piece of political real estate
The DA is right to oppose Black Economic Empowerment. The announcement earlier this week by Federal Leader John Steenhuisen that the GNU’s second party has
With the wind at his back … Steenhuisen and the “moonshot pact”
The following is the second extract from my book, Rule Breakers: How the 2024 election campaign changed South Africa forever, published by Protea. The first
Turning up the volume: Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma and democratic SA’s most consequential election
The following is an extract from my book, Rule Breakers: How the 2024 election campaign changed South Africa forever, published by Protea, in which I
Big Agri’s quiet betrayal of SA’s farmers
Two weeks ago at NAMPO, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson assured the audience that the new Expropriation Act was no cause for alarm.
From Pretoria to Washington: Is this the ANC’s last wake-up call?
Yesterday was a discomfiting moment for President Ramaphosa and the ANC. This could be a pivotal juncture for the party, a shock into recovery –