The elevation of Jacob Zuma to the presidency was hailed by his supporters as inaugurating a new era for the ANC. Officially, Thabo Mbeki had been removed from the presidency for abusing power. However, the reality was that he had simply offended too many within the Tripartite Alliance, and they had seized the opportunities offered by Polokwane and the Nicholson judgement to remove him.

For COSATU and the SACP, it was strategic to present Mbeki as representing GEAR, the ‘class of 1996’, and capitalist growth patterns inimical to the working class; for the wider ‘coalition of the aggrieved’, Mbeki was simply portrayed as dictatorial. In contrast, Zuma was propelled to the presidency not only as one who had been unjustly persecuted, but as a leader who would put the party back in touch with the masses. The further implication was that whereas Mbeki's technocratic instincts had subordinated the ANC to the state, the ANC would now subordinate the state to the party, ensuring that government would implement policies adopted at Polokwane. From this perspective, it mattered little that Zuma carried with him a large amount of baggage, ranging from a questionable record as head of intelligence in exile through to his sexual peccadilloes and his alleged involvement in corruption around the arms deal. What did matter was that he was the antithesis of Mbeki and that those who felt excluded from power saw him as their vehicle for political inclusion.