EDITORIAL: DA needs to find its soul
The DA has hardly scratched the surface of the black vote, which is crucial if the party is to grow
Business Day last week revealed that the DA’s popularity is in the doldrums, polling at pre-2016 levels of support. Polling at this level of support is a huge problem for the party as it prepares for its federal congress for many reasons, some well-known perennial issues, but others that are possibly less obvious. The most obvious problem is that 2016 support levels suggest its attempts to become a credible voice among black voters are not working. At current levels, the party’s total support would be about 24% of the voting public, which would imply about 5% black support — which means it has hardly scratched the surface of the black vote, which is crucial if the party is to grow. Among the causes of the DA’s woes is, of course, the elevation of Cyril Ramaphosa to president of the ANC and the country in a blistering wave. "Ramaphoria" has thrown the DA and, as it happens, the EFF off their moorings. Both parties invested enormous amounts of political capital in focusing their campa...
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