Dear Sir
Let’s summarise what Gareth van Onselen says (Politicsweb, 20th April, 2019).
He says, a clearer choice in these elections would be nice, but it’s not to be. And, in spite of misgivings, internal coherence in the party has come to the fore; it is election time, after all.
So, all things are put on hold, while forced and feigned unity reigns. But the the bulging door, behind which much dissatisfaction sits, will open after elections, and Mmusi Maimane’s lack of ideas, shutdown of debate, anti-intellectualism, ANC-lite policies, and election performance will be up for debate – as they ought, in a reckoning of sorts.
In the interim, Helen Zille and Tony Leon have been brought in on the campaign trail; there is a dire need to bring ANC votes down (which entails taking votes – largely black – from the ANC), and to stop bleeding DA votes to the Freedom Front and other small parties – all of which is necessary to bolster the official opposition and help confront the ANC/EFF in parliament. Both Zille and Leon have the requisite cred here. Maimane is yet to prove himself. That said, smaller parties play an important role too, in our proportional system.
The Federal Head Office (FHO) of the party, where the electorally expedient apparatchiks reside, are praying for a 3% increment in total votes cast, which will be hailed by Maimane, and his FHO handlers as a victory of note, but even if that is achieved, the question is: so what? At the same time, it would do to remember that opposition parties don’t win elections; governments lose them, and the polls are as divergent as ever – none, however, predict a huge increment for the DA.
Whatever happens, the bulging door will break open after the election, as Van Onselen says, and the soul of the party – because that’s what it’s about – will be up for contestation.
This may well happen, particularly if the party barely grows, or shrinks, and heads will, and should, roll. If it achieves the 3% increment or more, the bulging door may well cease to bulge, but the issues, in either scenario will not disappear, and it may herald a split of sorts, or a coup of sorts – a slip between coup and lip, if you like.
From the perspective of this anonymous DA member – the requisite anonymity being sadly significant in itself, in a liberal democratic organisation – the call should be: ‘bring it on,’ to quote the rallying cry of a prominent DA MP. Right now, van Onselen, despite his clear and articulate analysis, is wrong to decry a battening down of the hatches in the final stretch – it’s a Hobson’s Choice of sorts, and for now, it’s best to hold fire till after the elections.
Yours faithfully,
Anonymous DA member.
