In the lead-up to the May 29 elections in South Africa, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) went to great lengths to draw attention to the socioeconomic advancements the country made in the past 30 years in a desperate attempt to win favour with an electorate increasingly disillusioned with its governing capabilities.

Most famously, in his State of the Nation address in February, President and ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa tried to highlight the long-term achievements of his party through the tale of “Tintswalo” – a fictional Black woman born in 1994, within months of the fall of apartheid and the ANC’s rise to power.

“Tintswalo – democracy’s child – grew up in a society that was worlds apart from the South Africa of her parents, grandparents and great-grandparents,” Ramaphosa said. “She grew up in a society governed by a constitution rooted in equality, the rule of law, and affirmation of the inherent dignity of every citizen.”

He went on to explain that this imaginary young woman grew up in a public mass-housing scheme for poor South Africans, received state-funded education and healthcare, graduated into a well-paying job, and is now living in a nice house with plenty of reason to look forward to the future.

According to the president, the inspiring, uplifting story of Tintswalo was the story of most young South Africans and an allegory for the massive progress made under the ANC.

This is not wrong. There are many South Africans whose living conditions and future prospects improved significantly under ANC governments over the past 30 years.

Despite this, however, the tale of Tintswalo failed to convince many South Africans to vote in another ANC government on May 29.

The ANC party received just 40.18 percent of the votes, well short of the majority it had held since the all-race vote of 1994 that ended apartheid and brought the party to power under Nelson Mandela. It now has to find a coalition partner to form a government.

So what was behind the ANC’s election setback?

In short, it seems that many “Tintswalos” across the country had enough of the high levels of crime, unemployment, poor service delivery, and corruption that came to define South Africa today. They had enough of being told that they should be grateful just for being (at times marginally) better off than their parents, who suffered for years under apartheid. They had enough of struggling to make ends meet as ANC’s many corruption scandals were swept under the carpet. They had enough, and sent a message to the governing party by........

© Al Jazeera