So who was the biggest winner after Jacob Zuma survived an eighth motion of no confidence?
The way the president was jolling and singing on stage and gloating “the ANC can’t be defeated”, suggests he had cause for celebration.
The ANC claimed bragging rights too, of course, saying it was a victory for democracy and praising their MPs for “voting with their conscience”.
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Munier was confused. This was a motion of no confidence in the president, not the ANC, was it not?
In fact, the EFF’s Julius Malema had earlier pointed this out in Parliament and called on ANC MPs to vote against “Duduzane’s father”, not their own party.
So in the end, JZ won, not the ruling party.
That’s the tune the opposition is singing, anyway.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane wasn’t in a jubilant mood, but he is confident after the outcome of the vote.
The opposition had managed to swing at least 26 ANC votes.
That’s only about 20% of the ANC’s 249 seats, but it’s 20% more than before.
It’s crystal clear now for all to see that the ruling party is divided and weakened.
Juju put it nicely when he said they are “eating the elephant bit by bit”.
And they are not giving up.
The DA is now launching a bid to dissolve Parliament and is pushing for early elections. For real.
Let’s be clear, the real endgame of the DA is not to get rid of Zuma, it’s to unseat the ANC.
No.1 may be Maimane’s enemy No.1, but the prez just so happens to be the opposition’s biggest weapon heading into the 2019 elections.
The DA’s campaign needs Zuma and his 783 corruption charges and the Guptas.
They need the cabinet reshuffles, economic recession and alleged capture of state institutions.
They are going to hou dik, and druk JZ’s nommer for the next two years.
And this strategy, sorry for the ANC, is going to work.
Zuma has become a major handicap for the party, we saw the damage done at last year’s municipal elections.
The ruling party’s majority shrank to 54.5% and they lost three key metros, Tshwane, Nelson Mandela Bay and Johannesburg.
Keeping JZ in office is not likely to improve the ANC’s 2019 prospects.
What the party should have done - to wipe the slate clean of scandals and corruption - was vote Zuma out when they had the chance this week.
It would have sent a message to the nation that the ANC was committed to renewing itself and cleaning up House.
It was a missed opportunity.
Instead, MPs rallied behind Zuma, to the detriment of the ruling party and the country.
So the big winner - for the next two years - is Zuma, and to a lesser extent the opposition.
The ANC is the biggest loser.