The important issue was not the struggle between the left and right wing, or a battle between a perceived ”good guy and bad guy”, but how the winner and loser and the public general would react, Steven Friedmann of the Institute for Security Studies said.
 
Speaking at a Bureau for Economic Research function in Sandton, he stated that the environment that the appointment would create in the country was more important. It would probably not have a significant effect on macroeconomic policy, as this was generally drafted by the National Executive Policy of the ANC.
 
However, he did argue that the next president of the ANC should be elected through a democratic vote at the general assembly, of about 3 000 people, rather than chosen behind the NEC’s closed doors. It would be a “setback for democracy” if the latter happened.