Re-established National Party Herstigte Nasionale Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | HNP |
| Leader | Fritz van Graan[1] |
| Founder | Albert Hertzog |
| Founded | 25 October 1969; 56 years ago (1969-10-25) |
| Split from | National Party |
| Headquarters | 199 Neethling Street, Eloffsdal,Pretoria[citation needed] |
| Newspaper | Die Afrikaner |
| Ideology | Afrikaner nationalism[2] Verwoerdianism Apartheid[3] White supremacy Anti-British sentiment Anti-communism opposition to theVolkstaat idea |
| Political position | Far-right[4] |
| Religion | Calvinism[5] |
| Colours | Orange, white and blue |
| Slogan | Die land is ons land (This land is our land) |
| Party flag | |
 | |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheHerstigte Nasionale Party (English:Re-established National Party) is aSouth African political party which was formed as afar-right splinter group of the now defunctNational Party in 1969. The party name was commonly abbreviated as HNP, evoking theHerenigde Nasionale Party, although colloquially they were also known as the Herstigtes.[6] The party is, unlike other splinter factions from the National Party, still active but politically irrelevant.
The HNP was formed in 1969 byAlbert Hertzog (son of former Prime Minister GeneralJBM Hertzog) in protest against the decision by Prime MinisterB.J. Vorster to authorize the presence ofMaori players and spectators during the tour ofNew Zealand rugby union team in South Africa in 1970. He was also against Vorster's re-establishment of diplomatic relations withMalawi and that country's appointment of a Black ambassador to South Africa.[7] The name was chosen to reflect the initials of the earlierHerenigde Nasionale Party (Reunited National Party), the name used by the National Party in theelection of 1948. Seeking a return toCalvinism as the basis of South Africa, the party advocated completeracial segregation and the adoption ofAfrikaans as the only official language.[8] The bulk of the membership of the new party was made up of rural and small town working and lower middle class Afrikaners who resented what they saw as the National Party devoting their attentions to the concerns of urban Afrikaner elites.[7] TheAfrikaner Broederbond denied membership to any HNP member.
The party contested the1970 general election although its campaign was the subject of government crackdowns and attacks. The party's 78 candidates were all defeated, including its four Members of Parliament, all of whom had been National Party members before defecting to the new HNP.[9] The party also contested 50 seats in the1974 general election but failed to make an impact in an election where reformists advanced.[10] During this election the HNP boycotted the English language press, as the party opposed the use of the language.[11] It also contested three by-elections in 1975 and 1976 and enjoyed some growth, taking second place ahead of theUnited Party in the two seats that that group contested.[12] The HNP captured 3.3% of the vote in the1977 general election before increasing to 14.1% in1981 as right wing disenchantment with the NP grew, but on no occasion did it win any seats[13] and its newly acquired voters soon shifted their support to theConservative Party.
Eugène Terre'Blanche had been a member of the HNP, but broke with the group in 1973, after becoming disillusioned with their adherence to electoral politics. He then established the paramilitaryAfrikaner Weerstandsbeweging.[14] He also differed from the HNP in his belief in the establishment of a white homeland in South Africa, something the HNP rejected as unnecessary.[15]
Under the leadership ofJaap Marais, the former deputy leader who replaced the retiring Hertzog in 1977,[16] the party emerged as a force amongst white South Africans. In 1979 the evidence of its potential was demonstrated in a series of by-elections when it seemed to threaten the position of the ruling party.[17] In a near-breakthrough focused on right-wing Afrikaners dissatisfied with the Botha government, it obtained 14.1% support in the1981 general election. In the constituency ofRustenburg, the HNP candidate came hundreds of votes from besting the incumbent National MP, but to no avail.[18][19] In October 1985 the party's general secretary Louis Stofberg won a by-election inSasolburg on a campaign based on the presence of a mixed couple in the constituency and opposition to the tax system, in which the wealthier white population paid more tax than the other ethnic groups.[20] The victory came in the midst of a failed electoral alliance between the HNP and the Conservative Party that had been established earlier that year, withAndries Treurnicht claiming it was a first step to merging the HNP into the Conservatives, something the conviction-oriented Marais firmly opposed.[15] With the CP not filing a candidate, Stofberg represented the constituency for two years as a sole voice attacking the NP from the right. From 1987,the CP captured the role of official opposition under Treurnicht with strong support from Afrikaner voters and so the electoral basis for the HNP was drained.
The HNP effectively remained the chief voice of the uncompromising far-right, however, particularly in 1989 when both theAfrikaner Weerstandsbeweging and theBoerestaat Party declared their support for Marais over Treurnicht, who despite his stances was considered a pragmatic opportunist, with a long background in the NP under Vorster's and Botha's leadership.[21][22] Its only previous contact with other parties had been in 1985 with a brief co-operation with theConservative Party to oppose the repeal of theProhibition of Mixed Marriages Act and theImmorality Amendment Act byP.W. Botha, both part of a cosmetic reform programme aimed at improving the picture of apartheid South Africa, which Treurnicht decried as "multiracialism".[23][24] Although the AWB did not set up an official political wing and did not officially endorse the HNP, its long-time leader Eugene Terre'Blanche had previously run for office under the HNP banner.[25]
On the international stage, the HNP built up a number of contacts with far-right groups in Europe and for a time during the 1980s it was responsible for funding the United Kingdom-basedLeague of Saint George.[26] It was also closely associated with theSouth African National Front (SANF), an overseas branch of theNational Front in the United Kingdom.[27] Between 1980 and 1987 the party bankrolled the English-speaking far-right journalSouth African Patriot, edited by SANF members John Hiddleston and then Alan Harvey.
The HNP joined theAfrikaner Volksfront of GeneralConstand Viljoen in 1991, but the front collapsed in 1994 when many of the members refused to participate in South Africa's first non-racial elections.[28] The HNP drifted away from Viljoen and did not join hisFreedom Front party. As a result, it has become something of a marginal force in contemporary South Africa, arguing for theself-determination of whiteAfrikaners and a return toVerwoerdian apartheid. The party motto is now "This land is our land" (Afrikaans:Dié Land is ons Land).[citation needed]
It re-emerged in 2004, when the party lodged an official complaint against theSABC 3 television channel when it broadcast a play entitledID, which satirised the killing ofHendrik Verwoerd. Although the HNP argued that it portrayed Verwoerd and his supporters unfairly, the complaint was rejected by theBroadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa.[29]
Jaap Marais died in 2000, and was replaced as leader byWillie Marais. Willie Marais died in December 2007, and was replaced as by Japie Theart.[30] The present leader is Fritz van Graan.[1] Two splits have occurred from the party over ideology and tactics: theAfrikaner Nationalist Movement in 2004, and theAfrikaner Volksparty in 2008.
When founded, the HNP emphasised above all itsAfrikaner identity, attacking immigration, seeking to downgrade the importance of the English language, and endorsing apartheid. The party also launched an attack on the materialism that it felt was taking over South African society and thus sought to present itself as the voice of working class Afrikaners.[31] It frequently attacked the "liberalism" of the National Party regime, arguing that it was gradually diluting apartheid and offering too many concessions to non-Whites.[32]
The party rejects the idea of a separateVolkstaat specifically for Afrikaners, claiming all of South Africa for Afrikaners instead. It believes that the interests of the black population will be sufficiently met in the former blackhomelands. The HNP has no clear plan for how a return toApartheid South Africa could be achieved. The party also emphasises the importance ofCalvinism to the South African identity.[33]
The party does not recognise the new order in South Africa and, as part of its policy of resistance, encourages people not to vote. That makes it impossible to determine the exact level of support the party has.[citation needed]
While South Africa administeredNamibia until 1988, the party was active in the country in opposition to independence and black rights. It contested thefirst multi-ethnic election in 1978, capturing 1.8% of the vote, or 10% of the White vote. The election resulted in a landslide win for theDemocratic Turnhalle Alliance of Namibia, albeit with the main black opposition parties, theSouth West Africa People's Organization and theNamibia National Front, excluded from the ballot.[34]
| Election year | # of total votes | % of overall vote | # of seats won | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970[35] | 53 763 | 3.57% | 0 | 3/4 |
| 1974[36] | 39 568 | 3.6% | 0 | 4/5 |
| 1977[37] | 34 161 | 3.2% | 0 | 4/5 |
| 1981[38] | 192 304 | 14.09% | 0 | 3/4 |
| 1987[39] | 62 888 | 3.1% | 0 | 4/5 |
| 1989[39] | 5,416 | 0.2% | 0 | 4/4 |
| Year | Name | Period | Time in office | Deputy leader/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Albert Hertzog | 1969–1977 | 8 years | |
| 1977 | Jaap Marais | 1977–2000 | 23 years | |
| 2000 | Willie Marais | 2000–2007 | 7 years | |
| 2007 | Japie Theart | 2007–2010 | 3 years | |
| 2010[40] | Andries Breytenbach | 2010–present | incumbent |
The HNP advocated for a Calvinist, racially segregated and Afrikaans-speaking nation.
The HNP advocated for a Calvinist, racially segregated and Afrikaans-speaking nation.
The far right in South Africa emerged as the Herstigte Nasionale Party (HNP) in 1969, formed by Albert Hertzog as breakaway from the predominant right-wing South African National Party
The HNP advocated for a Calvinist, racially segregated and Afrikaans-speaking nation.
.jpg)
