ROAD TO 2024 ELECTIONS
DA’s Steenhuisen eases back on contentious comments about working with ANC
DA leader John Steenhuisen set tongues wagging when he said working with the ANC was still not off the table last week. He has now toned down.
DA leader John Steenhuisen appears to have backtracked from last week’s comment about possibly forming a coalition government with the ANC should the moment come after 29 May.
Mail & Guardian quoted Steenhuisen saying a DA-ANC coalition was not off the table.
The comment set tongues wagging with people accusing the DA of not being committed to removing the ANC from power.
The comments led ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont to say that, “South Africans must punish parties that speak with forked tongues about the ANC”.
“Any party in the Multi-Party Charter (MPC) that ‘entertains any working arrangement or co-governing arrangement with the ANC’ is in breach of Section 7.1.2 of the Charter agreement that they signed.”
The section states that signatories of the MPC commit to not engaging in any working arrangements or co-governing agreements with the ANC, EFF, or any rival formations. There is no punishment for parties in the MPC who choose not to abide by this but Beaumont said the DA would want such agreements to be binding in court.
South Africans must punish parties that speak with forked tongues about the ANC.
Any party in the Multi-Party Charter that “entertains any working arrangement or co-governing arrangement with the ANC” is in breach of the Section 7.1.2 of the Charter agreement that they signed. pic.twitter.com/fOvBbA63cf
— Michael Beaumont (@ME_Beaumont) April 8, 2024
The upcoming elections, which many describe as South Africa’s most contested yet, indicate that anything could happen. The governing ANC, from all fronts, is undoubtedly facing an electoral support decline, but how much of a decline is still what lingers on everyone’s mind.
The possibility of a coalition government nationally is plausible. This led to a national dialogue, facilitated by Deputy President Paul Mashatile in August 2023, to put ground rules in place for forming coalitions.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Countdown to May 29 polls – SA’s political contest heats up after some parties cast doubt on IEC
No matter what the outcome of the elections will be, the ANC, even if it receives below the 50+1 majority required to form a government, will likely receive the biggest chunk of the votes.
Polls and political commentators also believe that the MPC, which the DA is part of, will get well below 50% of the votes.
DA leader John Steenhuisen, DA Western Cape leader Tertuis Simmers and DA Western Cape Premier candidate Alan Winde.(Photo: Velani Ludidi)
Speaking to Daily Maverick on the sideline of the party’s Western Cape manifesto launch on Saturday, Steenhuisen declined to give a straight answer as to whether he was indeed open to forming a coalition with the ANC should the opportunity present itself.
“The DA is 100% committed to getting the Multi-Party Charter over 51% of the vote,” he said. “That is my sole focus. I meet every week with the leaders of the MPC to plot the way forward about how we can bring an alternative to South Africa and we are rolling out policies on a weekly basis.”
Steenhuisen added that he does not believe that keeping the same party in government would take the country forward.
Read more in Daily Maverick: IFP open to possibility of government of national unity, says Velenkosini Hlabisa
The DA is not the only party to have contemplated the possibility of forming a government with the ANC.
EFF leader Julius Malema, speaking to JJ Tabane on his Frank Dialogue podcast on YouTube last week, said if the ANC gets below 50% he would be willing to bargain EFF votes with the ANC, but only if they make his deputy Floyd Shivambu finance minister.
DA Western Cape premier candidate Alan Winde and DA leader in the province, Tertius Simmers, during the party’s Western Cape manifesto launch.(Photo: Velani Ludidi)
Winde for premier
Alan Winde will have another shot as premier of the Western Cape. On Saturday, he set out, in detail, the DA’s successes as the Western Cape government and why the party has consistently emerged as the best-performing provincial government in South Africa.
If elected again, he pledged to create 800,000 new jobs, fight crime with 1,300 law enforcement officers, Rural Safety Units and K9 Units and cut rolling blackouts by four stages.
“The Western Cape was rescued from the ANC back in 2009. In that time, the DA has shown the rest of South Africa that it is possible to build a government that works.
“To keep delivering to the people of the Western Cape, the DA calls on every registered voter in the province to vote for us on 29 May 2024.”
The party also went on the offensive against other parties contesting it in the province, with Steenhuisen saying the biggest risks to continued progress were complacency and the political opportunists in small parties. These include Patriotic Alliance, Rise Mzansi, Good Party and the National Coloured Congress.
“Why are they coming to the Western Cape? If they get that right, it’s gonna be the biggest bank heist you’ve ever seen,” said Steenhuisen.
“Why are they running around trying to break the one DA province that, over the past five years, has created four out of every five net new jobs in the whole [of] South Africa? Why are these parties obsessed with targeting this province — the only province that works, where the 1,200 law enforcement officers deployed under the ground-breaking Leap programme have already made 27,000 arrests.”
Rise Mzansi Western Cape premier candidate Axolile Notywala responded to Steenhuisen’s comments calling it a “racist rant”.
“We really must call out this rant from Steenhuisen for what it is: Swart gevaar and racist! The insinuation that we’re campaigning in the Western Cape to steal is racist. The four parties he mentions here are parties led by or with premier candidates that are not white.”
Notywala said he partly believes Rise Mzansi’s refusal to join the MPC might be the reason why Steenhuisen made the remarks.
“We have always maintained that we will listen to all the parties that want to talk to us but we are not going to form any pre-coalition arrangements. It does not make sense for us to be forming coalitions before the voters have decided whether to give us a chance or not.” DM
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That’s a wise move from Johan, you don’t put the cart before the horse, secondly working with the current ANC will DA the much needed exposure to the poor communities where he will apply his experience and improve service delivery without alienating the ANC.
I am not campaigning for the DA or any party, my view is informed by the needs on the ground.
Not wanting to be negative, but seems quite optimistic a partnership. Quite high risk but possibly high reward. One (ANC) better get ones house in order before joining up. They’d have to expose their necks & underbellies a bit. Are they prepared to? The DA has poor communities in the Western Cape. Is their record there indicative of their use of knowledge and experience to deal with issues there? The ANC seems to understand helping the poor as R350 + R20 a month. The ANC/DA national-provincial ‘partnership’ in policing gang, taxi and related crime in WC doesn’t look good. But who knows…maybe sitting down, talking, listening, open mindedness, and actually forming a partnership is possible. Never say never…they say
I tend to differ. It simply shows that the DA, as always, doesn’t know what it wants. If it wanted to gain more than their what 25% of the votes, they should have gone for the disillusioned former ANC voters (of which there are more than 1.5 million), but they are going for VF+ and Good votes. The VF+ is already against the ANC. With Steenhuizen on the poster, they will not get the 1.5 million to vote for it.
Steenhuizen has pertinently said a coalition with the ANC is off the table. He probably received a poll suggesting that the ANC will need the DA or the MK or the EFF. In that he didn’t see his principle, he saw a chance to become deputy president. He doesn’t know what he wants for RSA, but he knows what he wants for himself. In that, he and Ramaphosa will be a great tango – me first, my party second, RSA third and my principles – for sell to the highest bidder.
Just a note that being informed by the needs on the ground does not preclude identifying the best party to fulfill those needs and campaigning for it.
In fact in my view it is high time that vast majority of people reading this paper started backing something and actively expending positive energy for our country rather than just complaining endlessly as they are wont to do.
Yes true about not being negative. Although for me that doesn’t mean being selective about who things are working/not working for. I think it’s important for parties to acknowledge shortcomings and provide voters with tangible reassurance as to how we get things right.
Funnily enough…since last year or sometime after the Ramaphosa anticlimax, I’ve been trying to convince friends/family at home and abroad that DA seems the way to go now. My attitude changed a bit after I started to read the DM comments. I’ve found more that a few quite condescending and unwilling to accept any criticism, critique or see need to reflect.
Nonetheless, a few comments from some supporters don’t a party policy make. Still one takes notice when trying to find a person to put that x on.
So in the end, like the politicians themselves, some of us know we want the ANC out. That’s most as far it goes. Except parties must find a way to convince us and not blame us for not being readily convinced if we have questions/doubts. It’s part of the wooing process…We’ve been burnt twice.
EFF alliance with ANC : Shivambu as finance minister and Malema probably gets Public Enterprises.
Countries deserve the leaders the elect.
And we will have VBS chapter two
Gayton McKenzie, be he nonchalant, reckless, or audacious, says that political parties (and politicians!) are playing for power. And the attainment will be informed by whatever is necessary. And justified, mind, by proposing that power is much preferred to opposition, for the benefit, of course, of supporters. Of course! It’s all about the best for supporters!
“Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble.”
Nuff z.
There is much wisdom in the statement about being no longer able to see the wood for the trees.
This is exactly the place where our politics is right now. Whether it’s in fighting for positions within parties, or within coalitions or the scoring of cheap (meaningless) victories over political opponents – it all points to where our politicians energies and attention is focused – and isn’t on Gogo Dlamini, Joe Soap or Tintswalo. What’s more, we the electorate, have been sucked into all this time wasting, non productive, going nowhere quickly – drama!
What we have to do is start working together to fix and build for the future. What we all need to accept is that at the end of May the ANC will remain the single biggest party – but probably won’t have an outright majority. They are going to have to go into coalition and what is going to matter most (in all of our lives) ‘is with whom’
If we want stability – if we wanna start moving forward – the best answer is an ANC / DA/ Govt of National Unity solution. The alternative is just ‘so bad’ for all of us I don’t wanna even think about it.
We gotta stop day dreaming about solutions that are never going to happen and instead start focusing on what is practically best.
Agreed! Well said.
100% agreed and spoke my mind plenty.
“What’s more, we the electorate, have been sucked into all this time wasting, non productive, going nowhere quickly – drama!”
So true. I wish more people would stop feeding the trolls. Politicians can only politick if the proletariat plays patsy.
Agree absolutely…
attacking a potential ally like rise mzansi is not the brightest thing to do.
Sorry by Rise Mansi is part of divide and rule strategy. Why do they not have rallies in ANC constituencies. The fish is starting to stink
“Why do they not have rallies in ANC constituencies.”
Who says they don’t? Have you even checked?
“Racist rant” is nothing more than a knee-jerk response from a politician who hasn’t anything more original to say.
Why is RM not telling us who are going to be their coalition partners? I will not give my vote to a party with such shady tactics. Anything might happen. They know what other parties stand for . Nothing will change after the election. I guess they are going to form a coalition with the EFF. Mark my words
Rise Mzansi muddy the waters and weaken the opposition in the same way that MK weakens the ANC.
South Africa does not have the luxury of time for them to inject themselves into the political landscape at this point.
The mere existence of Rise Mzansi lessens the likelihood of changing the direction of travel to a positive one for all our people.
If Rise Mzansi really cared about the people of South Africa they would shut up shop and merge into the DA to enhance a single strong opposition. The resulting party could be called Rise DA or DA Mzansi or Bob the builder for all I care – but it should be a single opposition party.
There can be no rescue of stage 4 cancer without cutting it out and aggressive treatment if you lucky. The ANC is this stage 4 and to far along to save. By aligning with them means you will spread it to the rest of the organs. Wake up and focus on the country and its People, and not the sick ANC who is dying and only interested in bringing everyone down with them. Move along with the living and give us a chance to live. Hard to swallow , but sorry SA , life must go on.
Politics can boil down to chosing the lesser of evils (though it’s probably considered impolite to put it in such terms). Let’s assume that nobody gets a majority (likely) and that ANC, EFF and DA (not necessarily in that order) are the only parties with double digit support (likely).
Now a coalition has to form. And this is where the choice of evils comes in for the ANC, the DA, and for us.
The ANC might have greater legitimacy if the DA has outperformed the EFF (likely). The DA might have a choice between joining with the ANC or seeing an ANC/EFF ruling coalition. This is not their first choice, but is it better than the alternatives available to them? And is it better for us that the DA take an inflexible position and allow the EFF to co-govern with the ANC?
It may be that all of us have to chose between ANC/EFF or ANC/DA. If that was your choice, if whatever you preferred was not available and you had to chose between those two, which would you prefer?
Why in tarnation would anc align with a double didget party if they could swallow up 2 single didget nobody parties to become the ruling 51% leading gang in ZAR!!
Me thinks the da blows too many paper trumpets.
No, it’s not racist. But people who draw the race card for no reason are racist.
We need a political party that advocates a free market economy
It must be “SEEN” as a multi-racial party – will NEVER win a majority if not
It has to target the youth – this will ensure a long term future : Malema and the EFF have seen this
We’ve had the National Party era. The ANC era is drawing to a close. I see these elections as transitional. It will take a few years before we see clarity.
The MPC is unlikely to get enough support to govern. Probably only the DA will get double digits. And what is better for the COUNTRY, which is what all these parties say they are concerned about? ANC/EFF or ANC/DA?
These parties don’t regard themselves as allies anyway. They can’t stop taking shots at each other. All they have in common is that they don’t want the ANC to govern.
A picture tells a thousand words.
Your point being?
Political prostitution is the killer of integrity and good governance!
You clearly are an expert on politics and strategy, thank you so much for enlightening us with your educated perspective.
There will be compromises needed to get our country working – by everyone; and I would caution us all to remember there is a lot of gray on the black white spectrum.
Instead of trying to second guess political strategies, there is however one critical thing we can each do to help start our country on the road to recovery and it is this:
In 2024, vote for the party that has a proven track record of the highest focus on service delivery and law and order, and the size and ability to deliver on promises.
The great news for all of us is that this is empirically a no brainer. It can only be the DA. [by a country mile]
Why in tarnation would anc align with a double didget party if they could swallow up 2 single didget nobody parties to become the ruling 51% leading gang in ZAR!!
Me thinks the da blows too many paper trumpets.
What is your point exactly?
If you have a tangible issues with any of the DA policies for improving our country please say what they are – well considered criticism is always welcomed by any party of substance.
If however you are just being critical for the sake of it then it would be helpful to our country if you could be more circumspect.
DA must convince us black people starting from Mzibuzo that they are not using us through our votes to advance their apartheid coz all our guy when they ask our stake from their leadership they are chased away, never trust a white person, they WILL never change and are using stupid blacks for themselves