GARETH VAN ONSELEN: Populism is the root cause of the DA’s problems
Under the leadership of Helen Zille and then under Mmusi Maimane in particular, the DA has been taught for years that populism pays
A recent internal letter by two DA MPs, Gavin Davis and Michael Cardo, titled Real Progressives Reject Groupthink, has served to make public those fears of some inside the party, that "progressives" want "race quotas applied to the party’s representatives in Parliament and other legislatures". Read: Let's keep racial nationalism out of the DA The letter suggests that a proposed amendment to the DA constitution, dealing with diversity and to be put before the upcoming federal congress, "does nothing to distinguish our approach from the ANC’s" and "instead of clarifying the distinction between representivity and diversity, it blurs the lines". Thus, the letter warns, "if we embark on this path, we’ll be on a slippery slope towards ANC-style race quotas." Its publication was met with a considerable response. Many DA representatives weighed in on social media and the media instantaneously took it all to the usual hysterical heights ("Race tears the DA apart," screamed the City Press). ...
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