As the DA wraps up its campaign today, party federal chair Helen Zille says she and her colleagues have done their best to warn voters of the consequences of failing to back the party on Wednesday.
Zille, speaking on the sidelines of a campaign event in Soweto this week, said the DA’s message had focused on its own vision for South Africa and on the danger of voting for rival parties that will steer the country down a slippery slope.
“We have made all the progress we set out to make,” Zille said. “We have been working flat-out day and night for many months and this is the culmination of the work put in. By this stage of the game most people have made up their minds on how they’re going to vote and now the big push is to get people to actually vote.”
One of the party’s main slogans is “Rescue South Africa”, an appeal to voters to force the ruling ANC from office.
Party leader John Steenhuisen has pulled out all the stops, including driving the formation of the multiparty charter with the IFP, FF+, ActionSA and others in the hopes that such a coalition could gain 50%+1 of the vote.
Zille dismissed the controversies sparked by DA policy plans such as the scrapping of the minimum wage and by its campaign advert depicting a burning South African flag.
“We’ve faced challenges during this campaign season, but very few actually. It’s been very calm at the head office, everyone in the blue machine knows what their jobs are and they are doing them well.
“We told the truth at the right time to tell it and we were not wise after the event.”
South Africans love to be outraged. Many people spend a long time looking for things to be outraged about. The DA tells the truth and moves on
— Helen Zille
She said much of the anger directed at the DA was predictable: “South Africans love to be outraged. Many people spend a long time looking for things to be outraged about. The DA tells the truth and moves on. If people are outraged by our policy directions or what we say is happening in South Africa and what we depict to be happening, we know that in 10 years’ time, when people look back, they will know that we were right.”
Zille reserved much of her scorn for the PA, which some polls indicate is eating into DA support in the Western Cape.
“Everywhere that the PA has been in government, in Beaufort West, Knysna, Theewaterskloof, Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg — people realise that life under the PA-included coalitions is terrible and gets rapidly worse.
“Where they’ve been in power in Knysna with the ANC, they’ve sought to ruin that little town in less than two years. Equally in Beaufort West, Theewaterskloof and the other places. I hope people don’t wake up too late.”
Zille said the DA had consistently warned voters about the perils of supporting Gayton McKenzie’s party.
“We are telling them and they can see for themselves what has happened when the ANC and the PA are in government together. The PA always gives their votes to the ANC and all we can do is tell people what the consequences will be. I hope they don’t have to live through bad experiences before they learn that lesson.”
She said the party’s campaign had run its course and now the future was up to the electorate. “We have no last-minute tricks to whip out the bag for this campaign, we just have to hope that the DA voters come out in their numbers.”
The party hosts its final “We can rescue South Africa” rally today at Willowmoore Stadium in Benoni.
