At my local supermarket I often bumped into an elderly gent (“just call me Al”) who seemed to enjoy buttonholing me for a chat about his favourite subject, party politics. Why he imagined I knew anything about slimy snake pits is beyond me.
He confided he’s a dyed-in-the-wool opposition supporter who once voted for the old United Party during apartheid (“I refused to vote for the Nats because some of my best friends were non-Europeans”) before nailing his colours to the mast of the PFP and its successor, the DA.
When I last met him a few months ago he was exceptionally upbeat, confident his party was ready to take over government in 2019.
“With Tshwane, Joburg and Mandela Bay in the bag and Cape Town already in our hands, just watch this space, my friend - we’re going to be the next government,” he bragged.
Three months have passed since I saw Al at the supermarket, which I found odd. Was the VAT hike keeping him away or was he depressed that his beloved party has lost the plot?
I believed his optimism about the DA was understandable with the ANC in disarray over the state capture scandal. Taking the reins of power was perhaps wishful thinking by the DA, but reducing the ANC’s majority to below 50% was possible.
But the opposition party allowed a golden opportunity to slip through its fingers. Someone in the leadership should have realised making the odd mistake was perhaps acceptable, but making so many at the same time was inexcusable.
First, most people know hell hath no fury like a Patricia de Lille scorned. She’s a tenacious terrier who never lets go without a fight. Just ask the arms deal crooks.
Surely getting into bed with the EFF in Nelson Mandela Bay should have come with the obligatory risk warnings?
Which brings me to the latest controversy over the letter by two prominent DA MPs urging the party to reject proposed changes to its constitution aimed at broadening racial diversity, saying they clash with the party’s traditional liberal values. What are they looking for? Another shot at a qualified rather than a universal franchise?
When I bump into Al again, I will recommend the DA invests in a compass that works. The party seems to have lost its direction.