Election analyst Wayne Sussman says this was a breakthrough election for the DA and ActionSA, and a bad one for the ANC. He told Rob Rose from the Financial Mail and Zukile Majova from Scrolla Africa that the ANC ended on about 31% and the DA on about 25%, a gap of only six points, down from 24 points in 2021. He says the ANC lost voters to many parties at once, and that more than 130 councils are now hung.

On Joburg, Sussman says a DA and ActionSA deal would give the two parties enough seats, but there is a lot of bad blood between them. He has changed his mind in recent days and now thinks a DA and ANC deal is the most likely outcome, partly because of KwaZulu-Natal. He does not see how the DA can drop Helen Zille. He also says MK did not do as well as many expected, and that Jacob Zuma’s absence from the campaign trail hurt it.

Watch the full episode on YouTube, or listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Sharp Sharp is the weekly podcast on politics, money and power from the Financial Mail and Scrolla.Africa.

Helen Zille says the local government elections will decide whether Joburg and the other big cities succeed or fail. The DA’s Joburg mayoral candidate spoke to Rob Rose from the Financial Mail and Zukile Majova from Scrolla.Africa in episode 32 of Sharp Sharp.

Zille says the DA needs 490,000 people to vote for it on both ballots to win 136 of the 270 council seats. She refused to name her coalition red lines. She says you should never give away your bottom line in a negotiation, and that if the DA falls short of 50% it will look at all the options and take the least bad one. Asked whether she could work with Herman Mashaba again, she said she did not know and that they must see what the election result says.

On the state of the city, Zille says Joburg is owed R81-billion and owes its creditors R25-billion. She says the first year would go on stabilising the finances, fixing the billing system and passing a more sensible first budget. She says Joburg Water told her it needs R3-billion a year for maintenance, and that it will get that money “come hell or high water”. She also says water, electricity and roads are all on the ballot paper.

Zille hit back when Rob asked why the DA has struggled to break through. She said the real miracle is how big the DA has become, with about a third of its voters black, a third brown and a third white. She says the DA is about to become the biggest party in the country. The DA is currently the second biggest party nationally.

The three also talked about inequality in Cape Town and Joburg, the future of the Government of National Unity, whether she would go into opposition if she cannot form a coalition, and her views on journalists. She said she might even start her own podcast.

Watch the full episode on YouTube, or listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Sharp Sharp is the weekly podcast on politics, money and power from the Financial Mail and Scrolla.Africa.

South Africa votes on 4 November. The United States votes the day before. In episode 31 of Sharp Sharp, Rob Rose from the Financial Mail, Zukile Majova from Scrolla.Africa and Patrick Smith from Africa Confidential look at what both elections mean for South Africa.

They start with what the local government elections mean for the Government of National Unity. Patrick asks whether the GNU can survive a result that goes against one of its biggest partners.

Then they turn to Joburg. Zuks says the DA’s maths is hard even if it reaches 40%, because it still needs about 10 more points and has few obvious partners. They also ask whether Herman Mashaba and the ANC could cut a deal that keeps Helen Zille out of the mayor’s chair.

The three also ask why professionals feel pushed out of the ANC, and why so many young people register to vote but do not turn up. They discuss how the youth vote has been pulled towards the EFF and MK.

Finally, they look at the world. They cover the US midterms, corruption and the cost of living, Brazil and Israel’s election, and whether South Africa slips down Donald Trump’s list of targets.

Watch the full episode on YouTube, or listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Sharp Sharp is the weekly podcast on politics, money and power from the Financial Mail and Scrolla.Africa.

Rob Rose from the Financial Mail and Zukile Majova from Scrolla.Africa clash over the Constitutional Court’s ruling that let the ANC register the candidates it failed to submit, in episode 30 of Sharp Sharp.

Rob says rules are rules, and the ANC missed its own deadline by not pressing submit. Zuks says punishing the party means punishing voters, especially in the Eastern Cape, where people could lose the party they have backed for 30 years.

They also ask whether the ruling has saved Fikile Mbalula’s career, and who takes the blame if the ANC does badly in November.

In the first half of the show, they speak to Dr Elsa Thirion Venter from MarkData about the new poll with eNCA. It puts the DA on 35% and the ANC on 21.8% in Joburg. Dr Elsa explains how the poll was done, why so many voters are still undecided, and what people want from their next mayor.

Rob Rose from the Financial Mail, Zukile Majova from Scrolla.Africa and Patrick Smith from Africa Confidential unpack Jacob Zuma’s unfinished revolution in episode 29 of Sharp Sharp.

With uncertainty surrounding his health, they examine whether the MK Party can survive without its biggest drawcard, his complicated legacy and the politics of personal loyalty.

They also discuss the ANC’s candidate list court battle, South Africa’s Formula One frustrations and the similarities between Zuma and Donald Trump.

Rob Rose from the Financial Mail and Zukile Majova from Scrolla.Africa are joined in studio by ActionSA president Herman Mashaba for episode 28 of Sharp Sharp.

Mashaba explains why he refuses to work with Helen Zille and sets out his conditions for coalitions. He discusses his fallout with the DA and ActionSA’s ambitions in Johannesburg and Soweto.

Rob and Zuks challenge his claims about undocumented migrants and crime, question his record as mayor and ask what he would do in his first 100 days back in office.

The conversation also covers building Black Like Me under apartheid, his proposed changes to the Constitution and the next generation of ActionSA leaders.

Rob Rose from the Financial Mail and Zukile Majova from Scrolla.Africa are joined by Gareth van Onselen, CEO of Victory Research, for episode 27 of Sharp Sharp.

Gareth lifts the lid on election polling: how samples are chosen, why turnout changes the numbers, what margins of error mean and why polls are snapshots rather than predictions.

They unpack the ANC’s turnout problem, Helen Zille and the DA’s prospects in Johannesburg, the coalition picture in Tshwane, and the rise of MK and the Patriotic Alliance.

The team also examines the ANC’s candidate-list failures and why voters, politicians and journalists often see what they want to see in a poll.

Rob Rose and Zukile Majova return for episode 26 of Sharp Sharp, the weekly podcast on politics, money and power from the Financial Mail and Scrolla.Africa.

Fikile Mbalula is facing growing pressure after the ANC failed to submit 181 council candidates before the election deadline. Rob and Zuks ask what the blunder reveals about the party’s leadership and whether the ANC can continue protecting its secretary-general.

Rob Rose and Zukile Majova are joined by Patrick Smith from Africa Confidential for episode 25 of Sharp Sharp, the weekly podcast on politics, money and power from the Financial Mail and Scrolla.Africa.

The Trump administration has announced targeted visa restrictions for foreign nationals involved in race based discrimination. Washington has again accused South Africa of persecuting Afrikaners, despite its claims presenting a distorted picture of the country. Rob, Zuks and Patrick examine what this could mean for business and diplomacy, and whether anyone can repair relations between the two countries.

Rob Rose and Zukile Majova return for episode 24 of Sharp Sharp, the weekly podcast on politics, money and power from the Financial Mail and Scrolla.Africa.

The ANC failed one of the most basic tests facing any political party: submitting all its candidates for an election. Nearly 200 ANC candidates across several municipalities could be affected after the party missed the Electoral Commission’s deadline. Rob and Zuks ask what the failure reveals about the collapse of the ANC’s internal machinery and whether secretary-general Fikile Mbalula will be held accountable.