Characters / MTNO South Africa

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Union of South Africa

Official Name: Union of South Africa

Ruling Party: New Liberal Party^note Nuwe Liberale Party

Ideology: Liberal Chauvinism^note Paternalism

South Africa - the beautiful jewel lying in the southernmost tip of mother Africa. While the beautiful landscape and the smiles in the faces of her people could fool one into believing there is nothing wrong with South Africa, its problems spring up from beneath its tense surface when one prods further. Crime, racism, authoritarianism and inequality have defined South Africa in recent years. Its victory against the German tyrants was not followed by reconciliation and unity, but more of the same. Years have flown by, yet South Africa remains in a limbo. Too afraid of to move, but terrified of what may lurk in the darkness should they stay where they are.

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General Tropes

• Amoral Afrikaner: While Apertheid was never implemented in this timeline, White South Africans still hold a monopoly on power by excluding the majority African population from the political process entirely, and systematic discrimination is commonplace even if it isn't codified into law. Afrikaners tend to be more conservative and in favor of maintaining white rule, being indifferent to the plight of the native Bantus and taking the "rights" they have on paper at face value, thinking the natives are simply asking for too much.
• Defector from Decadence: During the late 70s, the progressives in the United Party grew dissatisfied with the party's conservative approach to racial issues and split from it, creating the Progressive Federal Party which would go on to evolve into the Democratic Party in MTNO.
• Democracy Is Flawed: South Africa is a liberal democracy, but its black population does not enjoy the same freedoms as everyone else. Most blacks are unable to vote because they don't qualify for the socioeconomic requirements or are simply stopped by the bureaucratic process, those who do get to vote quickly realize their vote does not matter (One white vote equates to ten black votes), and only their community leaders are allowed to run for office.
• Department of Major Vexation: Black South Africans can legally vote, but they must go through the Ministry of Native Affairs to be granted permission to register to vote, which is just the first step of the process. The bureaucracy they're put through is so extensive and ridiculous that most eventually give up.
• Divided We Fall: During the 1980 Elections, the liberal vote was split between the United Party and Progressive Federal Party. This led to the victory of the then newly-formed Conservative Party under Andries Treurnicht, who went on to reverse a decade of progress towards racial equality and pardoned several members of the fascist Afrikaner regime, allowing them to go unpunished for their treason and crimes during the South African War. The same could happen again if the Democratic Party is elected and fails to reconcile with the New Liberal Party, galvanizing the reactionaries in the NCP and allowing them to take power once again.
• Enemy Mine: The New Liberal Party and the Democratic Party can hardly see eye-to-eye especially when it comes, but both are opposed to the more right-wing National Conservative Party and put their differences aside to work as one whenever the NCP is in power.
• The Federation:
  • South Africa is a full member of the Organization of Free Nations.
  • One of the conclusions to South Africa's situation in MTNO. The Democratic Party can succeed in putting an end to Leierskap and creating a multiracial democracy, also going on to establish a federal government to ensure none of South Africa's ethnic groups - be it the Bantus or the Afrikaners - can use state power to oppress other peoples.
• Fictional Political Party: Unlike the Democratic Party and the National Conservative Party (which are direct equivalents to the OTL Democratic Alliance and New National Party/Freedom Front Plus), the New Liberal Party is entirely fictional and is meant to be the ideological successor to the defunct United Party.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: As one would expect, none of the surrounding African countries like South Africa. Those who are not aligned with the United States even harbor members of the African National Congress and other Black militants within their borders.
• A House Divided: South Africa is split between its three largest parties: the center-left Democratic Party, the centrist to center-right New Liberal Party, and the right-wing to far-right National Conservative Party. The three parties have drastically different visions of how South Africa should be structured politically (The DP wants an equal power-sharing system between different ethnic groups, the NLP wants to maintain white leadership with token reforms, and the NCP wants to strengthen white minority rule through Baaskap) and neither of the three parties are willing to concede or compromise.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: White South African liberals are still condescending towards blacks and want to continue the system of white leadership, but they are preferable to the racists in the National Conservative Party, who want to reverse whatever gains the non-white population has made in recent years no matter how small.
• Politically Incorrect Hero: South Africa is a stronghold of liberalism in the African continent and one of America's closest allies in the fight against Nazism. It is also governed by a white minority that continues to disenfranchise and oppress the Black majority population and refuses to share power with them.
• Propaganda Machine: The South African government is eager to downplay South Africa's racial issues to the rest of the free world, and uses mass media as a means to control the narrative.
• Red Scare: The National Conservative Party often slams their opponents as communists and plays up fears of a takeover by the socialist ANC to dissuade people from voting for the Democratic Party.
• Space-Filling Empire: South Africa occupies almost all of Southern Africa, controlling Namibia and Botswana.
• Status Quo Is God: the majority of South African liberals are quite conservative when it comes to racial issues, and are in favor of keeping the current political system and only making minor changes to it.
• Token Minority: Coloureds and other non-black minorities are no longer legally discriminated against and enjoy the same freedoms as white South Africans. All of the three major political parties enthusiastically accept Coloured politicians and include them in (secondary) leadership positions to deflect accusations of racism from progressive voters.
• Western Terrorists: The Afrikaner Resistance Movement (Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, AWB) was formed by Boer guerrillas during the South African War and managed to survive as a terrorist group, still causing headaches for the South African government in MTNO.
• White Man's Burden: South Africa is governed with the principle of Blanke Leierskap, or "White Leadership." The idea behind it is that the native Bantu peoples have to be content with white minority rule until they (Bantus) are "uplifted" from their current material conditions. In theory, Leierskap is against economic inequality between blacks and whites and only excludes them from political life, but in practice this system of disenfranchisement leads to wider systematic discrimination, thus keeping Blacks from improving their living conditions and ensuing the perpetual continuation of white rule.
• Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters:
  • The African National Congress is viewed positively by Black South Africans for their armed struggle against oppression, even though the South African government condemns it as a terrorist organization.
  • The Namibian SWAPO has continued its struggle for independence in collaboration with the ANC, fighting to put an end to South Africa's occupation.

Prime Ministers

Marthinus van Schalkwyk

Role: Prime Minister

Party: New Liberal Party^note Nuwe Liberale Party

Ideology: Liberal Chauvinism^note Paternalism

Marthinus van Schalkwyk is the Incumbent Prime Minister of South Africa under the New Liberal Party, having previously served as a minister in the government of Pik Botha. Four years after he was elected just as the free world was hit by the Great Recession, Schalkwyk's premiership has been underwhelming to say the least.

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• 0% Approval Rating: Downplayed. Schalkwyk's failure to remedy South Africa's economy and his incompetence are certainly hated, but his awkwardness and public gaffes have become so iconic that South Africans ended up loving him for it.
• Allohistorical Allusion: His defection from the NCP to the NLP mirrors his abandonment of the New National Party and entry into the ANC.
• Defector from Decadence: He defected from the National Conservative Party after spending years trying to bring it to a more moderate direction, finding the party's hardline stances to be counter-productive.
• Inadequate Inheritor: His predecessor, Pik Botha, served three full terms and was immensely popular among voters. Schalkwyk wasn't favored by Botha to succeed him, but was ultimately chosen by the NLP regardless as the party was riding high on Botha's success and wanted someone who was close to him ideologically. As it turns out, Schalkwyk did not have the same political experience as Botha and did not perform very well in office.
• Politically Incorrect Hero: Schalkwyk is a Chauvinistic Liberal who believes Leierskap is ideal for South Africa and refuses to make large concessions to the natives, following the general party line. Ironically, the real Schalkwyk is the total opposite, having even joined the ANC. But given how white rule has persevered in this timeline and a general paternalistic sentiment exists in South African liberals, Schalkwyk's views on racial relations are much more conservative.
• Our Presidents Are Different: The President Buffoon type. Schalkwyk is awkward and unqualified for the job, and has done very little during his time in office.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Schalkwyk is a centrist liberal who has tried to cross party lines and work with both the NCP and the DP on most issues.