S. Africa's liberal death
Of all the consequences of 37 years of unbroken Nationalist rule in South Africa, one of the worst is the effect it has had on the white liberals. Apartheid gave them a perfect excuse for not examining their own role — as mine-owning pluto- crats and their dependents — in the making of South Africa. All this was reflected in the liberal press, most of all in the Rand Daily Mail whose closure has just been announced. Founded 80 years ago by the mining magnate Sir Abe Bailey, it was Boer-bashing and Imperialist, champion- ing the twin causes of the Empire and the gold mines. In recentyears it has acquired a different reputation martly deserved, as a crusading foe of Nationalist oppression. In truth it has had some brave men editing and writing for it. In truth also, it was not of late a very good paper. It epitomised the self-regarding, self-pitying tendentiousness which has become the hallmark of South African liberal journalism. In the general election four years ago the Progressive Federal Party increased its tally of seats from 17 to 26, the Nationalists scoring 131. This was banner-headlined by the Daily Mail, `Nats Mauled'. The company which owns the RDN, SAAN, has been described by a local stockbroker as the worst man- aged company quoted on the Johannes- burg Stock Exchange. For all that, the SAAN management are right when they say that the newspaper market is over- traded.iBut the reaction of President P. W. Botha to the RDM's demise is unattrac- tive: 'A new spirit of South Africanism taking control of the South African news- papers' sounds like old-fashioned Boer soutie-hating — or is it even anti-semitism? All the same, its sad death might well afford an opportunity for the liberals to- re-examine their position.
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