Aparthied South Africa / White Africa

Assuming the UP wins, I think it would be a good idea to keep the election as close as possible - have the UP win in a couple more marginal rural seats that went to the NP/AP and perhaps have the Labour Party win a couple more seats in the cities that the UP won. Let a couple of the OTL 1948-53 Apartheid cabinet lose their seats, keeping them out of parliament and therefore moderating calls for further movement on that point. IOTL the UP won 49.18% of the national vote to 37.7% for the NP

Point of doing this would be to a) keep the UP in power, b) let them keep more of a rural focus, c) make the Labour Party an integral part of the government in that era. I don't really know anything about the SA Labour Party at the time, but it would certainly be a big change to have them in government, in a formal coalition. Then, if they don't implode by 1953 they may be able to form one of the possible competitors to the UP. Maybe leaving room for a longer term realignment where the UP shifts rightwards, eating up some of the ground the NP had, while the LP swells to become a major force.


So far as PODs. How about the simplest, have Smuts suffer an accident/death not long before the election, let him be replaced by a solid Afrikaner UP figure, then have a slightly sympathy burst. For added points, have him suffer the heart attack while at church, in his electorate (which was rural right? Standerton?)
 
Jones, yes. You are right there.

But even Rhodesia only lasted until 1980 (or even became impossible before that).

Ivan
 
Jones, yes. You are right there.

But even Rhodesia only lasted until 1980 (or even became impossible before that).

Ivan

And correct me if Im wrong, but they were, in regards to their white population, majority Anglo-African right?

As for another nation with possibilities, how about heavier Scottish and British migration to Nyasaland? I think that could lead to a possibility of Apartheid. Or even more German immigrants to Taganyika, or possibly Kenya. Those When-Wes after all.
 
Jones, Yes, I think a lot had the potential, but it never happened or it quickly got cancelled out, especially after 1945.

The British empire going at that time together with this whole notion that the "white man" was not superior after all. The example is obviously the Japanese invasions in Asia, showing that non-whites could defeat the whites.

If we are looking at viable options after 1945, I think we will quickly run out of candidates.

However, if we look at some former French colonies, maybe we have more candidates there? I have not really been to West Africa. However, it does come across as though the French erased local habits and culture and replaced it with French culture and language. That could have enabled some sort of minority rule more than the English way?

Comments?

Yours,
 

Kaptin Kurk

Banned
A Smuts victory to me, seems the most logical course, for internal SA politics. It might allow for some African middle class, and limit African militanism. But even so, it seems to me, protestations not withstanding, the conflict betwene English Speakers and Afrikaans speakers will figure heavily in South African politics as long as it is thought the blacks are pretty much under control, and I don't really see anyone thinging the blacks are a military problem until about 70s at the earliest. And that's assuming the Communist Block (with special attention to Cuba) still invests in African Revolution.
 
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