The DA’s worst enemy is within the DA itself

The reincarnation of Tony Leon (or is it Helen Zille?) was completed this past weekend in the official opposition with the election of John Steenhuisen as interim leader following the recent resignation of Mmusi Maimane.

The only positive they can draw from Steenuisen’s victory is that it stopped the clueless Makashule Gana from ascending to the highest office in local opposition politics.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) and, indeed, any significant political party truly committed to addressing past injustices, needs a black leader, but not one in the mould of Gana who sounded hopelessly like a fence-sitter on all issues related to race.

Steenhuisen, although fundamentally opposed to seeing race in SA’s inequalities, was by far the best of the two.

A question that needs to be asked of the DA is: do they realise the importance of a truly integrated official opposition in current SA politics? If their answer is yes, then why are they doing so much to ensure the DA never becomes such opposition?

The SA political landscape has been ripe for an opposition party that puts the country first since the days of the Congress of the People (Cope). In fact, if it wasn’t for the vindictive and eventually destructive battle for leadership between Mbhazima Shilowa and Mosioa Lekota, Cope would be sitting pretty right now.

The electorate had given Cope 30 seats in its first try because there has always been a hunger for an opposition party that truly represents all people of SA without being shy about seeing the current inequalities as race-based.

Steenhuisen’s liberalism is admirable, but his refusal to acknowledge that SA’s artificial inequalities require an equally artificially biased redress system will keep the DA where it is or, even worse, lose it part of its current support.

The naive political assertion that Maimane did not really have a political constituency because he too was a Zille creation is what will hurt the DA the most.

Maimane had many faults as DA leader, but one of them was not the inability to read the political landscape correctly. He earned himself the respect of a significant section of DA voters because of his charisma, but, most importantly, his move together with Herman Mashaba in resigning when they felt the DA was veering off-course earned him the respect and even sympathy of the black middle-class voter whom the DA is chasing to ensure diversity within the party.

The greatest danger for the DA right now might seem like it lies outside the party with Maimane, Mashaba and Athol Trollip out there strategising about their next moves.

But, truth be told, the DA’s worst enemy is within the DA itself. The DA commissioned DA people to analyse reasons why support declined in the last election. The DA is basically so deep in navel-gazing they cannot see beyond their noses. And the saddest thing is that they believe their own shortsighted analysis of their own faults.

Steenhuisen’s liberalism is probably so deeply ingrained that he will not commit the same grave, naive and offensive Zille “colonialism-was-good” mistake, but his refusal to accept criticism and analysis of the DA that comes from outside the party will consign him and ultimately his party to political stunting and stagnation.

Sydney Majoko

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