South Africa’s decision to send Meyer to Washington looks, on paper, like a bid to stabilize relations. But it’s more of a test of whether Pretoria can still extract value from a superpower that has spent the last year sidelining it.

Meyer’s credentials are not in doubt. Even so, what he inherits is less a diplomatic posting than a restructuring job. The US has blocked South African officials from G20 meetings, excluded the country from the December G20 summit in Miami, and accused Pretoria of discredited claims of genocide and land seizures of white Afrikaner farmers. Reversing any of these decisions will require more than nostalgia for the 1990s.

The geopolitics are no easier. South Africa’s alignment with BRICS, its legal case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, and US asylum policies for white South Africans have become friction points.

Then there’s the overstated theory that Meyer’s identity — white Afrikaner — will function as some kind of shield in Washington. That assumes US politicians are driven by information gaps or misconceptions about South Africa. They aren’t. The narratives about land seizures, genocide claims and South African geopolitical drift persist because they’re politically useful, not because they await correction from a well briefed envoy.

Meyer’s appointment may help restore diplomatic decorum, but those expecting meaningful improvements in bilateral ties will be disappointed. Washington will demand policy alignment; Pretrial will want respect for its autonomy. The chasm between them remains too wide, and no ambassador, however seasoned, can close it alone.