WORLD : ‘Fight Over,’ Botha Agrees to Retire
The power struggle between President Pieter W. Botha and the new leader of the National Party, F. W. de Klerk, has been resolved, and Botha will retire after an election later this year, a newspaper reported today.
“The fight is over,” an unidentified government source told The Star, South Africa’s largest-selling daily. The compromise was reached in a meeting Tuesday. Botha, 73, suffered a stroke Jan. 18 and spent eight weeks recuperating. He resigned as leader of the governing National Party on Feb. 2 and was replaced by De Klerk.
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