OLIVER METH | DA’s well-oiled PR machinery: call it theatre, but the game is the game

There is something deeply intentional about the way the DA is positioning itself in Johannesburg right now. Whether one agrees with its politics or not, one has to acknowledge that we are witnessing not random visibility but a carefully layered, highly strategic communication drive that places their mayoral candidate, Helen Zille, squarely in the middle of everyday urban life ― from standing at robots speaking to motorists, to walking through local malls shaking hands, from unveiling a bold new campaign billboard focused on the city’s worsening water crisis, to perhaps most symbolically of all, stepping into the emotional and cultural firestorm that is the Soweto Derby.

The Soweto Derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs is one of the most charged cultural spaces in South Africa, where identity, pride, township culture, generational loyalty and history collide in 90 minutes of noise, colour, argument and celebration. When Zille, a white liberal political figure long associated with a party whose voter base has historically been suburban and minority-heavy, steps into that atmosphere, particularly in a tavern setting ― wearing Pirates regalia branded “Mayor ’26” ― the symbolism carries weight far beyond sport.

Zille’s message travelled and that is what matters in modern politics. The idea of Helen Zille sitting in a Soweto tavern during the derby, shoulder-to-shoulder with ordinary fans in a space traditionally seen as culturally distant from the DA’s core support base, disrupts old political scripts about who belongs where, about which party owns which cultural space and about which voters are considered “natural constituencies”. It signals an attempt, deliberate and visible, to tap into historically non-DA audiences, to be seen in township spaces not only during crises but during moments of joy, rivalry and collective identity.

Many political parties underestimate the power of this kind of symbolism because they assume voters are moved only by policy documents and manifesto bullet points, yet decades of political communication research ― and plain common sense ― tell us that people respond to familiarity, visibility and emotional resonance just as much as they respond to spreadsheets and speeches. When voters repeatedly see a leader in their streets, in their malls, in their cultural spaces, the leader begins to feel less distant and more present; presence builds recognition, recognition builds comfort, and comfort can build political openness.

In a city as politically fluid as Johannesburg, where voter loyalty is increasingly uncertain and frustration with service delivery is high, the battle will not be fought only in policy debates but in the realm of perception, symbolism and narrative dominance.

At the same time, this week’s unveiling of the new Johannesburg billboard, focused squarely on the city’s water crisis, shows that this is not symbolism without substance, because water shortages, leaking infrastructure and inconsistent supply are daily frustrations that cut across race and class.

Zille’s team has mastered the art by tying her campaign image to an issue that residents feel in their homes and businesses ― connecting her to cultural visibility with service delivery urgency, blending emotional symbolism from the derby weekend with hard governance messaging during the week.

This is what political scientists call permanent campaigning, though in everyday language it simply means never allowing the public space to grow cold. What Zille is doing, is being visible before the official campaign season kicks in, shaping the conversation before opponents define it, and she’s ensuring that by the time a manifesto is launched ― as we anticipate this Saturday ― voters will already feel as if they know who is showing up and who is not.

The DA’s machinery appears to understand this deeply, because the campaign is not confined to council chamber debates or formal press conferences. It is working through billboards, street-level engagements, WhatsApp groups, short video clips, mall walkabouts and symbolic cultural moments that travel quickly across social media feeds.

Critics will call Zille’s stance “theatre” and of course it is theatre, because politics has always involved performance and carefully chosen backdrops, but the mistake many rival parties make is assuming that theatre does not translate into influence, when in fact carefully staged presence can slowly shift perceptions about who is relevant, who is bold enough to enter new spaces and who appears to be campaigning with energy while others look reactive.

In a city as politically fluid as Johannesburg, where voter loyalty is increasingly uncertain and frustration with service delivery is high, the battle will not be fought only in policy debates but in the realm of perception, symbolism and narrative dominance. By stepping into the cultural furnace of the Soweto Derby while simultaneously anchoring her message in the reality of a water crisis, Zille’s campaign is attempting to stretch the DA’s appeal beyond its historical comfort zone, challenging old political boundaries in ways that many parties underestimate often at their own peril.

Oliver Meth is a development and political communications specialist and former CR17 Ramaphosa ANC Presidential Campaign media consultant