De Klerk Addresses Parliament as New National Party Leader
On 8 February 1989, F.W. de Klerk made his first major statement as National Party leader, when addressing the Tri-cameral Parliament, after being elected on 3 February when P.W. Botha unexpectedly resigned his leadership position as party leader. In his speech De Klerk said, “I want to state unequivocally that the National Party is against domination of any one group by others. White domination, in so far as it still exists, must go”.
According to De Klerk, this was based on a firm commitment to “group rights, alongside individual rights, is based on the reality of South Africa and not on an ideological obsession or racial prejudice” (Associated Press, 8 February 1989). Furthermore, De Klerk maintained, that “all the people of South Africa, whether they be black, white, Indian or coloured, must have a vote, must elect their leaders, and must, through their leaders, become part of all decisions affecting their lives. They must therefore become involved at all levels of government in such a way that no one group will be able to dominate the other” (The Times, 19 May 1989).
While De Klerk was more willing to compromise with the government’s opponents than was the case with autocratic Botha, it was becoming apparent that he still intended to focus his attention on protecting the interests of the white minority. He said he envisioned a system of government in which decisions were made by consensus a
