The president, José Eduardo dos Santos, and his ruling party, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA), which holds 191 out of the 220 seats in the National Assembly, enjoy complete hegemony over the political system. Mr dos Santos sits at the centre of a vast patronage network, skilfully appeasing conflicting interests both nationally and within the party while strengthening his own position. The adoption of a new constitution in 2010 consolidated his grip on power, establishing a presidential-parliamentary system under which the Angolan president will no longer be elected by popular vote but will instead be the head of the party with the most seats in parliament. Although a limit of two five-year presidential terms has been set, this does not take into account the 30 years already spent in office by Mr dos Santos, enabling him to remain as president until 2022, should he so wish.

Although Mr dos Santos has remained ambiguous over how long he plans to remain as president, the Economist Intelligence Unit expects him to stay in power at least until the next legislative election, in late 2012. Mr dos Santos has made a point of not grooming a clear successor, giving himself plenty of room for manoeuvre and leaving his rivals in the dark as to his true intentions. However, following a series of government reshuffles in 2010, his civilian chief-of-staff, Carlos Feijó, has emerged as the key figure in the revamped administration, acting as the government's chief enforcer and spokesman. The status of the long-standing chief of military affairs, General Hélder Vieira Dias "Kopelipa", is unclear, but he is likely to remain close to the centre of power after overseeing the president's economic interests for years.

The outcome of the constitutional revision was a huge disappointment for the opposition, confirming Mr dos Santos as the supreme arbiter of political affairs and underlining its inability to block or influence substantially government policy. Since its drubbing in the 2008 parliamentary election the main opposition party, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA), has struggled to make an impact at national level, and its leader, Isaias Samakuva, plans to stand down in 2011. The party will seek to capitalise on popular discontent with the lack of employment opportunities and rising living costs to build support, although its reach is weak beyond its core areas. The government is wary of the potential of popular unrest following the uprisings in North Africa, but it has so far proved adept at containing social pressures through a mixture of repression and subsidies to the general population.

The government's key domestic security threat-the long-running separatist conflict in the northern enclave of Cabinda-appears to be coming to an end, despite isolated incidences of violence, after the remaining factions of the Frente de Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda (FLEC) sought peace talks with the government. The signing of a peace treaty has tentatively been agreed, although given the fractured nature of FLEC's leadership it will be some time before all factions are brought on board.