 Smuts trusted his old ally, Botha to form a sensible government, but some didn't.The old foes from Bloemfontein, Steyn, Hertzog, and de Wet, all backed Merriman, fearing that an unsympathetic Afrikaner would be infinitely worse than an unsympathetic Briton.In the end, Smuts' backing won the day, and Gladstone appointed Botha to be Prime Minister.