It’s Time For Helen Zille To Pick A Side
The time has come for the “tannie” to pick a side. Either Helen chooses to stay in the DA and toe the party line, or she must choose to leave it.
Written by: Donald Brown
Mark 3:25 – And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
The former premier has been known for her outspoken tweets. She has stated that there were some positive aspects to colonialism and that she would lead a tax revolt if the corrupt did not land in jail. Now she holds that there are more racist laws in South Africa today than there were during Apartheid. One might dispute this, declaring the obvious, that black people did not even have the right to vote in those dark days, but many would find sympathy with her point of view. And perhaps accentuate that she was specifying a technical remark, that substantively the laws are not as segregationist as they were back in apartheid, but numerically more laws are dealing with race issues than during that period.
But once again, those who pontificate moral superiority are smelling blood. Even crazier, it seems that another investigation will be lead into the appropriateness of Helen Zille’s tweets, with the backing of the DA. Nevermind, Phumzile van Damme, who just recently called Western Cape secessionists regressive and the idea idiotic. Some, like Adriaan Basson, of News24, is adamant that Helen is \sabotaging the party she so willingly helped to create. But I believe this couldn’t be further from the truth. South Africans are not punishing the DA for Helen’s tweets. It’s punishing the DA, because of its lack of support for her perfectly reasonable points of view and this is compounded with the fact that it ultimately portrays the DA as unstable and directionless. If the leading members of the party cannot agree on political issues, what the hell do they stand for then? And nothing is uglier than weakness.
The time has come for the “tannie” to pick a side. Either Helen chooses to stay in the DA and toe the party line, compelled to watch the DA march towards election defeats or she must choose to leave it, leading a new libertarian/independence movement, which she seems much better able to do and be supportive of. I find it interesting that in one of her interviews with Renaldo Gouws, the Iron Lady, known for her direct answers, completely dodged a question on whether she supported Cape Independence. That should perhaps give some insight as to where her sympathies lie.
Fundamentally, the DA is now grappling with an issue that politicians around the world are struggling with. And that is that more and more, there is now splitting open a political divide, a chasm around social issues. Politicians gravitate towards this notion that everything is always about economics, but that has never been the case and they seem to have forgotten about some very important grievances, which are much easier to sell. Social issues in Victoria England resonated around proper dress and manners, a much-debated topic in the uncomfortable UK parliament. Then there was Prohibition, Segregation, Apartheid, culminating in gay rights, and now finally the new systemic racism question. And whereas the so-called “left” had always championed the social issues, winning every war on that front, now they have ventured into waters where they are extremely fragile.
It is almost assuredly more politically expedient and righteous, to side with the right on social issues. Patrice Motsepse seems to have by far his finger on the pulse of the nation, when he stated that “Africa loves Trump”. He exemplified Africa’s want of a strong man figure to match the USA’s tough stance on things like free expression, a hatred for the cancel culture, and a suspicion of the benefits of immigration.
To get some background, here are some polls to reveal some growing sense of apprehension about these ills in South Africa. Let me state that these polls are only meant to be indicative of a wide divide between the media or politicians and the common electorate, not that they should be endorsed.
On immigration, a major political boon to any party that which to take it on, 62% of South Africans believe immigrants increase the risk of terrorism and that they steal jobs and social benefits. 61% state that more than any other group, immigrants are to blame for crime. Afrobarometer did a study in which it found that more than 50% of voters do not feel they are free to say what they think. This might illustrate the growing backlash against the cancel culture movement.
With the mantra of constant racism in our lives, 81% of Urban voters have stated that they have never been discriminated against based on race. That figure climbs to 89% when it comes to Rural voters. Interestingly, more white people feel they have been discriminated against than black people.
A clear sign that most agree that to live on welfare is not suitable, about 80% of respondents expressed that having a job, a job with even a low wage, is better than not having one at all. 77% of Females agree or strongly agree that women and men have equal opportunities to get a job that pays a wage or salary. In the same poll, many seem to think that climate change had a positive effect on their livelihood, as they divulged in a subsequent answer that they have seen less flooding, not more in their area. The same goes for droughts.
Most interesting is a poll on women’s suitability for public office. The majority of South Africans agreed that men are better suited for politics than women. This majority includes, surprisingly, women, 50% of whom say men are better equipped for government affairs. What a blow to feminism that is! Now of course we all might have our own opinion on this issue, but the fact that South Africans feel so one-sided in response to the ANC and EFF’s increasing demands that females should dominate public life, reveals a political opportunity waiting to be harvested. One does not have to state that women should not be allowed in politics. Just that it should be based on merit and stop joining the ranks of social justice warriors demanding equality in all forms of representation.
So in conclusion, the DA no longer deserves Hellen, who after years of service during apartheid and efforts to build the DA to what it is now, is turning against her. A house divided against itself cannot stand, but more fundamentally, a house with no support is destined to collapse. And the DA is losing support for their continued weakness, their inability to see the changing times, and to be on the right side on many of these questions. Helen needs to pick the right side, head for open waters, chart a new path, and let the DA crumble from within.
Donald Brown studied LLB at the University Of South Africa. But he is also a trader (forex/indices), programmer, author and entrepreneur.