South African coalition fights over US ambassador pick

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South Africa’s unity government is at loggerheads over who should replace its expelled ambassador to the US, as tension with the Trump administration deepens cracks in the 10-party coalition.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s African National Congress says it is the president’s “sole right” to appoint a new US ambassador — a critical position handling an increasingly tense relationship with the world’s largest economy — while coalition partners are demanding broader consultation.

Those being considered include Trevor Manuel, a veteran ANC member and respected former finance minister, and Andries Nel, the current deputy justice minister who has kept a low profile during a decade and a half in government, local media have reported.

Helen Zille, the outspoken chair of the Democratic Alliance, a senior coalition partner, told the Financial Times her preferred candidate was Tony Leon, a former ambassador and leader of the DA party.

The departing envoy Ebrahim Rasool, a veteran ANC member and two-time ambassador, was declared “persona non grata” this month by US secretary of state Marco Rubio after criticising what he called Trump’s “supremacist assault on incumbency” during a webinar.

Zille said her “personal view” was that Leon “has a better chance than anybody else”.

Leon was deployed by the ANC to serve as ambassador to Argentina in 2009 when relations with that country were strained. “He understands the complexity of the issues very well, and I think he would be taken seriously in Washington,” Zille added.

The ANC has dismissed the suggestion. “It’s the president’s prerogative and decision,” said Vincent Magwenya, the presidential spokesperson.

A longtime ANC adviser said the “realities” of a Trump administration meant it would be “wiser” if the new appointee was not from the party. Rasool, who is Muslim and a former ANC liberation fighter, reportedly struggled to secure meetings in Washington.

The expulsion was the latest diplomatic row as relations between the US and South Africa, which this year became the first African country to chair the G20, plumbed new lows.

Trump has in recent weeks lashed out at South Africa for taking Israel to the International Court of Justice on accusations of genocide in Gaza; frozen all funding to South Africa; and offered asylum to white Afrikaners, emboldening fringe far-right groups in the country.

Elon Musk, his South African-born adviser and donor, has claimed without evidence that the country’s “openly racist laws” have targeted him and that white farmers are being murdered en masse.

Trump has nominated L Brent Bozell, a vocal defender of Israel, as ambassador to South Africa. Bozell’s son was pardoned by Trump after being convicted over the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

The strained ties with one of the country’s biggest trading partners have compounded a governance challenge for Ramaphosa, who heads a fragile coalition formed after the ANC lost its majority in May.

The ANC’s longtime rival before joining the coalition, the DA has periodically clashed with the government over its foreign policy positions, particularly its support for Palestine, closeness to China and Iran, and a “non-aligned” stance that often brings it into conflict with the west.

Khaya Sithole, an independent political analyst, said the DA could play a “tempering role that enables decision makers in the United States to at least reopen engagements”.

Other coalition parties have also piled in. The far-right Freedom Front Plus, which has six seats and runs on a platform of representing Afrikaners, said foreign policy was not a single party’s prerogative. “So far, the ANC has only managed to turn South Africa into an international outcast,” the party said.

Ahead of his deployment to Washington, Rasool, previously a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, said he would put away South Africa’s “megaphone” on Gaza in seeking to mend ties with Washington. Still, he struck a defiant note on returning home on Sunday, where he was greeted by supporters in ANC colours, including some waving Palestinian flags.

South Africa “has to think unconventionally” in its appointment, said Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, chief executive of the South African Institute of International Affairs. “Clearly a lot is at stake.”

“We need to think about [it] in ways that would advance South Africa’s national interest without also undermining our desire to . . . follow an independent foreign policy.”