futurefact finds:
President Zuma: Is he bringing the ANC (and South Africa) down with him?
When Jacob Zuma replaced Thabo Mbeki as President of South Africa in 2009, 80% of South Africans had confidence in him. He had a confidence score of 258 overall and even among white South Africans JZ had a score of 47. He appeared to be an asset to the ANC and it seemed, to the country.
Confidence starting diminishing quite early on in his tenure. By 2012 his score declined to 153 and went rapidly downwards thereafter even among black, working and middle class South Africans. A decline from 123 in 2008 to -247 among coloured South Africans very likely mirrors the growth of the DA in areas such as the Western Cape.
Confidence has also fallen among ANC supporters. Strong supporters have remained more faithful but clearly Zuma is a major deterrent if the ANC wishes to retain wavering supporters or keep potential new supporters. As confidence in the President waned there has been a corresponding increase in people agreeing strongly that the president should be chosen by the people and not by the party, from 47% in 2012 to 78% in 2015. In 2015, 89% said that: ”The president has too much power” with 68% feeling that political leadership is bad and getting worse.