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At the Crossroads, 1978–90

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South Africa

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Abstract

When P. W. Botha took power in 1978, he acquired the image of a reformer in a hurry. He told a conference of businessmen at the Carlton Hotel, Johannesburg, in November that apartheid was ‘a recipe for permanent conflict’, and when he opened the Transvaal National Party congress in September 1980 he treated it to a speech about economic realities rather than the usual exhortation to party loyalty. Unlike Vorster, who had allowed his ministers too much latitude and done little to control them, Botha employed tighter curbs, moving his own men into key positions in the top echelons of the civil service and so organising government business that a large part of it passed through the office of the Prime Minister, not least the control of the civil service itself, by means of a network of cabinet committees and advisory councils. This meant that even a maverick Nationalist like Dr A. P. Treurnicht, who was brought into the Cabinet in September 1980, could be kept under control.

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Bibliographical Notes

17.1 P. W. Botha’s political style and aims

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa

    T. R. H. Davenport (Emeritus Professor of History)

  2. University of Cape Town, South Africa

    Christopher Saunders (Professor of History)

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  1. T. R. H. Davenport
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  2. Christopher Saunders
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© 2000 T. R. H. Davenport and Christopher Saunders

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Davenport, T.R.H., Saunders, C. (2000). At the Crossroads, 1978–90. In: South Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230287549_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230287549_17

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-333-79223-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-230-28754-9

  • eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)

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