I feel like I need to do some basic education again around the logic of opposition politics.
I keep reading comments blatantly calling the DA a racist party that only looks after the interests of white capital and big business.
I can’t say for sure whether that is the case, but I can make a few logic-based observations.
Whether the DA is a racist party or not almost doesn’t matter at this point in time. What does matter is a strong opposition.
In other words, a powerful counter-balance to the status quo. It’s one of the unwritten rules of performance. And our forming Government of National Unity (GNU) will be eager to perform and prove to the nation that it was the right decision.
So much has been said and written in the last few weeks about the second GNU of our democracy. I sense a mixture of high hopes and gloomy cynicism in equal measure. But fear of violent revolution and the eternal optimist in me, says we are on the right path, if not the only path.
If only we can start educating our fellow citizens on the value of voting with their heads, instead of their hearts.
Emotional voting remains the bane of our political existence.
Voters feel a strong emotional connection to the parties responsible for our liberation. They feel that they will be betraying those who fought valiantly for democracy, if they vote for anyone else.
All of this makes a lot of sense.
While the past obviously matters, it’s time we look to the future. Ongoing education is needed so we can secure our children’s future by voting sensibly and giving the reigns of power to leaders who share our values, hopes and aspirations.
Education will also eliminate the problem we have with populism and tribalism.
Clearly many of the world’s politicians use this for their own ambitions for power and access to the public purse. It’s for these reasons that the value of opposition politics need to be taught to the entire electorate.
I like to illustrate it using the analogy of track runners.
If Usain Bolt is left to run the 400m by himself, then he never has to give his best, or even practice. He can pretty much run at any speed and still get a rousing applause for winning.
Put Wayde van Niekerk behind him and the dynamics change very quickly. Usain will be forced to deliver his very best to stay ahead. He will also have to keep improving to make sure Wayde never overtakes him.
Meanwhile, Wayde will constantly be trying to improve his performance so that he can eventually catch and pass Usain.
Neither can afford to make a mistake. Not just to continually outdo each other, but also because there are other runners putting their very best foot forward and nipping at the heels.
All while the cheering crowd benefits from the display, for which they get paid handsomely. Everybody wins.
In this analogy, Usain is the ANC. Wayde is the DA and the other runners are the likes of the IFP, the PAC and the PA.
We are the spectators cheering in the bleachers; benefitting from the competitors desperately trying to impress us by out-performing one another.
This is pretty much why competition in all spheres of product and service delivery is so important.
The entire motive is to figure out ways to impress us and win our ongoing support.
The whole exercise inevitably leads to creative thinking and innovative problem solving, if only to claim the bragging rights as the one who solved the problem.
Since that need to win approval by impressing the masses is the whole objective, do you understand why individual ideology almost doesn’t matter in such a scenario?
This is the reason why having as many parties as possible involved in the GNU, is so important. I don’t think they will lose their appetite for opposition in the process.
To the contrary; I believe it will make them even more vocal, with a louder voice, as the chief goal will still be to unseat the ANC in the long run.
The only difference is that they will be doing it from the inside.
As the Usain Bolt in the equation, the ANC will be fully aware of this and will by necessity be pulling up it’s service delivery socks.
For example, imagine a DA Minister of Police reducing crime to acceptable levels, a PA Minister of Economic Development eradicating unemployment, or an EFF Minister of Electricity relegating load shedding to the ash-heap of history.
They wouldn’t have to do any further campaigning for elections ever again.
It’s a long game of which we will be the ultimate beneficiaries, as every party in the GNU will be eager to show us why they deserve even more of our votes in 2029.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za