Factors underlying change in the South African general election of 1970.

The article discusses the factors underlying change in the South African general election of 1970. The general election of 1970 represented the first occasion in approximately a quarter of a century in which the United Party was able to make significant gains at the expense of the governing National Party. The "swing" of 4.3 per cent to the United Party was a small but important one. It is conceivable that a large number of English voters who supported the Nationalists in 1966 and who returned to the United Party were influenced by the split within the National Party, although they may not have been aware of this reason when deciding to shift their allegiance. There seem to have been several influences bearing on the behaviour of young Afrikaners. Amongst these are some of the products and by-products of the "permissive society." Differences between the younger and older generations of Afrikaners have been evident over the past few years and have manifested themselves in such diverse activities as style of clothing, views on enjoyment, sexual mores and the meaning of religion. A re-orientation of political thinking might simply be an outgrowth of this influence.