Thoughts on South African and international politics and culture

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

The DA's embarrassment
The old war-horse Helen Suzman has broken her silence of recent times to climb into Douglas Gibson's recent antics, and I couldn't agree more. It's more of the same stupidity from the DA, and it's exactly these types of over the top performances that only alienate the party from an electoral base that is its only hope of a future.

I simply cannot understand why the DA has not cognicised the fact that their abrasive, all-publicity affront simply does not win any votes in this current electoral climate. The DA has lost its credence in South Africa, and its relevance. It incessantly makes it easier for opponents to paint them with the racism brush, and does little to detract from those accusations. As Suzman says, these events have "diminished the DAÂ?s claim to respect as an opposition party". If the DA wants to rebuild trust with the electorate, and more importantly, to win more votes, the party has to focus on relevance.

Again, Suzman wins the last word:
"?The official opposition has, surely, much more important matters to attend to, such as corruption, crime, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, TB, Zimbabwe, and the government's failure to deliver on its many promises."?

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