South Africa: The Battle of the Bergs

Botha wins mixed support for constitutional reform

Afrikaners call it broedertwis, a fight between brothers. For months the once close-knit tribe of mainly Dutch-descended whites who control South African politics had been locked in a nasty family feud that centered on the "Battle of the Bergs," two special by-elections in the Transvaal region. At rallies for the candidates of the ruling National Party, Prime Minister Pieter W. Botha was jeered by hecklers supporting opponents in the far-right Conservative Party who accused him of plotting to "give away" white domination of the government to...