# Vote for the psychopath, Joburg needs it

> Anton Harber argues Johannesburg's next mayor needs ruthlessness and manipulation to fix a broken city.
- Title: Vote for the psychopath, Joburg needs it · Daily Maverick
- Summary: Anton Harber argues Johannesburg's next mayor needs ruthlessness and manipulation to fix a broken city. Opinion writer Anton Harber argues Johannesburg's…
- Keywords: johannesburg, local elections 2026, mayoral election, city of joburg, anton harber, municipal governance, news, politics, Vote, psychopath, Joburg, needs
- Source: Daily Maverick — https://dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2026-10-11-vote-for-the-psychopath-joburg-needs-it
- Author: Anton Harber
- Published: 2026-10-11T19:49:27+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: johannesburg, local elections 2026, mayoral election, city of joburg, anton harber, municipal governance, news, politics
## Johannesburg's mayor faces impossible odds
The city is broke, unable to pay contractors or buy office supplies. Water and electricity services fail regularly. Revenue collections are falling and theft is rising. Some areas go weeks without water.
## The job demands ruthless, cold-blooded leadership
Whoever is elected must clean out incompetent and corrupt officials and tackle an unaffordable long-term pay agreement. The role requires cold-blooded ruthlessness, steely courage, manic energy and suicidal determination.
## A psychopath might be ideal for the job
A psychopath is characterised by persistent lack of empathy, shallow conscience and manipulative behaviour hidden beneath superficial charm. That sounds like a job description for Johannesburg's next mayor.

> an individual characterised by a persistent lack of empathy, a shallow or absent conscience, and manipulative or antisocial behaviour, often hidden beneath a mask of superficial charm
## Competence matters more than ideology
Ideology is irrelevant. The city needs someone who can install skilled technocrats and let them work. Long-term solutions can wait. Right now, leadership needs are more basic than political philosophy.
## Eighty-two parties field candidates in Johannesburg
Seven thousand four hundred and forty-three candidates are running for one hundred and thirty-five wards, an average of fifty-five per ward.Roughly one percent of any population is psychopathic, suggesting about seventy-four candidates might be fit.
## The field includes narcissists, gangsters and extremists
Candidates range from narcissists to gangsters, religious extremists and jokers. One major party refuses to name a mayoral candidate. Another candidate stands in forty-four wards, apparently trying to form a one-person caucus.
## Harber knows who he will vote for
Despite the wide choice and little real choice, Anton Harber is clear about his vote. There is one psychopath who stands out among them all, though he does not name the candidate.
## Key takeaway

Opinion writer Anton Harber argues Johannesburg's next mayor must be ruthless and manipulative to tackle the city's financial collapse, corruption and failing services.