Gareth van Onselen’s Tweet of the Week column (The DA’s policy vacuum, July 21) provided a welcome and thought-provoking analysis of the dilemma facing the party. The trouble is the DA doesn’t know if it is a liberal (conservative or social) democratic party or a populist movement trying to beat the EFF at sweeping up disaffected black ANC votes. At the moment, the DA is none of these things. And, given Mmusi Maimane’s extraordinarily ill-considered new wealth tax proposal, it seems that little thought is being given to the problem by those in the party with any political or economic nous. Cute one-liners, parrying with skilled parliamentary questions and making clever speeches — all interspersed with faux fury — from those in the parliamentary bubble and then fanned with (admittedly good) video clips to an already totally supportive audience, is not going to cut it. The 2019 election is just around the corner and so far, all the DA has really got going for it is Jacob Zuma. Mark Lo...
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