The ghost of former black leaders who departed from the DA looms large over its credibility and assurance that it can break through the stereotype of being a party still battling with issues of race.
This also dominated debate in parliament during the recent state of the nation (Sona) debate.
Last year, the DA failed to redefine itself by appointing a black woman as its leader despite her qualifications and clear contest against John Steenhuisen, who has embarrassed the party on a few occasions, again on issues of seeming lack of emotional intelligence where racial sensibility is concerned.
Ironically, it was Dr Mpho Phalatse who contradicted John Steenhuisen over the Phoenix racist poster saga during the 2021 election campaign.
This breaking of rank over race made her a target of the DA’s establishment. When she eventually and miraculously became mayor of Johannesburg — thanks to the EFF — the DA oppressed her and overruled her olive branch to the EFF and IFP, resulting in a total collapse of the coalition in the City of Johannesburg.
These internal squabbles handed the city on a platter back to the ANC coalition now running the city. Even when she was illegally ousted, there was an attempt to stop her taking the city to court and instead the Gauteng premiership carrot was dangled before her if she abandoned the court challenge to restore the DA coalition's leadership at the city.
The story is worse than stated here, as there was unhappiness on the part of Phalatse about how electioneering rules were designed to favour John Steenhuisen as an incumbent. Candidates apparently were not allowed to criticise each other in the press and so on. How this is in keeping with the so-called liberal and democratic traditions is beyond me.
Just recently, Steenhuisen made two slips of the tongue that paint him as openly racist.
He claimed falsely that EFF leader Julius Malema has called for the genocide of white people in South Africa. This is not only sensational but blatantly racist and seeks to paint black people as a mindless group that could be swayed by one person to randomly kill fellow human beings.
The Kill the Boer song issue was settled long ago before the TRC and nothing really turns on it.
Interestingly, the same fellow could not bring himself to say that Israel's actions against Palestinians amount to genocide, but “this is for the courts to decide”.
He obfuscated in a TV interview after his manifesto launch at the weekend. Quick to label something far fetched genocide but reluctant to easily concede in the face of evidence that the death of 30,000 people in Palestine is genocidal, even though he claims to respect the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This is quite frankly unbridled hypocrisy.
The worst unashamed example of the swart gevaar since his predecessor Tony Leon pursued the ill-advised “fight back campaign”, was the declaration of the third biggest political party as the DA’s enemy number one.
This is pure swart gevaar that demonstrates a lack of political nuance.
This has fractured the opposition that, if united, could see the ANC out of power.
But by stroke of a pen and genius, Steenhuisen has opened the door for the ANC to partner with the EFF, resulting in the very “doomsday scenario” he has warned against.
He has placed everyone in a corner where they have vowed not to work with either the ANC, EFF or PA, which means that should those three parties together have 50% an ANC-led coalition can see the light of day. For that continuation of the ANC dominance we will have him to thank — so much for rescuing South Africa.
I am still puzzled that he managed to convince ActionSA and the IFP to go along with this crazy political strategy. But it seems they are on board, hoping to be the ones to lead such an arrangement into the union elections, even if the DA received the majority of the vote.
Such a decision was clearly made because of the consensus of the unsuitability of John Steenhuisen to be the president in the event that the coalition miraculously prevails. This is a slap in the face of the DA decision not to elect Phalatse as leader. A classic case of cutting your nose to spite your face.
Phalatse aside, in the face of a tough election with a 90% black vote up for the taking, the DA could not find a capable black leader to strategically appeal to the majority of South Africans? Are they now going to donate their votes to Herman Mashaba, who left them because of alleged racism, to be president? Not a bad idea.
So with all the nice pledges, the majority of this country will remain apprehensive about the DA’s true character as a diverse party.
Their recent rally and march were full of black people, but the leadership remains white and male. This dichotomy has given an impression that black people are there as voting cattle, hence so many credible leaders like Patricia de Lille, Herman Mashaba and Mmusi Maimane decided to abandon the DA ship even after some gallant attempts to make it work.
Who can forget bright people like Lindiwe Mazibuko, Makashule Gana and Mbali Ntuli?
Could they all be so wrong about the stench of racism that surrounds the DA? Or maybe — this is my Pep stores logic here — we should dismiss all these credible leaders and believe John Steenhuisen?
Finally, there is nothing in the party's pledge about proper economic empowerment, nothing on removing informal settlements, nothing on uplifting small business as an economic propeller, nothing on social grants as a poverty illumination strategy, or anything on the rural economy or free education for poor students.
Anything that has to do with the lot of the working class seems either absent or understated in the DA’s seven pledges that summarise the party. You can't just promise a wild thing such as lifting 6-million people out of poverty without deliberating on the “how” ... there is a betrayal in the absence of detail where it matters.
Sadly, we are not headed for anything new. It certainly does not look like this is a viable rescue plan. What needs rescuing is what was once considered a viable alternative whose star is fading on the altar of poor leadership.
· Dr JJ Tabane is anchor of Power to Truth on eNCA and adjunct professor of media studies at the University of Botswana.
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