Foreign policy change unlikely

2007-12-21 18:03

Polokwane - South Africa's foreign policy is unlikely to change much if Jacob Zuma becomes the nation's president, and it may take more of a back seat to burning domestic issues, such as poverty and unemployment.

Zuma, elected leader of the ANC on Tuesday, rarely strayed into foreign relations and has been vague about what policies he would pursue in the area.

As a result, Zuma may not be well known to many outside South Africa, unlike Mbeki, who is a familiar face on the international stage and viewed by some as a broker for rich industrialised nations and the developing world.

Now the frontrunner to succeed Mbeki, who must step down as state president in 2009, Zuma will be watched closely by foreign investors nervous over his leftwing backing. He has met investors at home and abroad to try to ease their concerns,

In a speech to the ANC conference that elected him, he vowed continuity in policies that have stoked the longest period of growth in the country's history.

"There is no reason for uncertainty or fear in any quarter," Zuma said.

Quiet diplomacy

Zuma suggested he would fall in line with the foreign policies Mbeki's government has pursued for eight years, particularly with regard to neighbouring Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been accused of human rights abuses and an economic crisis has led millions of its people to flee, mostly to South Africa. The economic meltdown has prompted international calls for Mugabe to step down after 27 years in power.

Zuma may have dashed hopes that his administration would be tougher toward Mugabe, who is seen as a liberation hero in some African countries. He said Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy" on Zimbabwe was working and would continue.

"It's not going to be useful to us to stand on the rooftops and criticise Zimbabwe," Zuma said, in a clear jab at Britain and the United States, Mugabe's most vocal critics.

At home, Zuma will be under pressure to tackle poverty.

Zuma's supporters in trade unions and the communist party have said they also want him to focus on job creation and greater state intervention in the economy.

"Our priorities do need to be on South Africa and the region," said Jeremy Cronin, the deputy general secretary of the South African Communist Party and a member of the ANC's National

Zuma earned respect for negotiating an end to the ethnic violence that erupted between the ANC and the Zulu-led Inkatha Freedom Party in the early 1990s. But he is untested on the international front and could look to others for guidance.

"Zuma is not a philosopher king. He is an organisation man, so we are now going to be dealing with a more diverse group of voices and people on foreign policy and in other areas," said Steven Friedman, a South African political analyst.

(Editing by Michael Georgy)

- Reuters