South Africa after the Election

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Periodical article

Title:	South Africa after the Election
Author:	Oppenheimer, H.F.
Year:	1974
Periodical:	African Affairs: The Journal of the Royal African Society
Volume:	73
Issue:	293
Period:	October
Pages:	399-407
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	political systems Whites elections 1974 National Party Progressive Party United Party History and Exploration Politics and Government Ethnic and Race Relations
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/720078
Abstract:	The election of April 1974 resulted in a modest increase in the already very large National Party majority; it resulted also in something of a breakthrough by the small Progressive Party, while the United Party, torn by internal dissension, lost to both left and right. The increased majority of the National Party is often interpreted as massive White endorsement of the policy of separate development and as a demonstration of rigidity in the political and social ideas of White South Africans. However, ideas and policies in all political parties are at the moment very fluid and the possibilities of change very great. The author discusses the position of the three parties and further the economic development of South Africa, that was marked by a turning point in the year 1970, and the effect of this economic change on developments in the political sphere.