Helen Zille. Photo: Lisa Skinner
Rapule Tabane posed 10 tough questions to
DA leader Helen Zille
Given the power of the ANC’s election campaign and financial muscle, isn’t the DA heading for the same election result as in 2004?
We’re aiming to end the election as the government at provincial level and we aim to keep the ANC below the two-thirds majority at national level. We think the provinces where the ANC is most vulnerable are Northern Cape, Western Cape and Gauteng.
Won’t Cope split the DA rather than the ANC vote?
All the empirical evidence shows Cope is splitting the ANC vote and allowing the DA to win. That’s why, since Cope’s formation, we’ve won more by-elections against the ANC than any other party.
After the elections, will you be a mayor or a premier?
If we win, I’m going to do my best to be a good premier. But I’ll work closely with Cape Town council because we want to align the city and the province. I’ll remove the obstacles the ANC put in our way to enable the city to do its work properly. They tried to get rid of us as the city government 10 times and, when they couldn’t, they tried to block us.
In the long term, do you foresee a DA-Cope merger?
I don’t talk in those terms, but since I stood for DA leader two years ago, my vision has been to realign politics in South Africa. I said the old political formations were outdated and based on historical factors; we had to transcend race and bring people together on the basis of values, principles and policies. We pioneered the concept of coalitions and we’ll build on shared values. If there’s enough in common, there’s no reason why we should remain in separate parties.
How much unity is there in the party on policy, for example on capital punishment?
On all issues of conscience you’re allowed to follow your conscience. Everyone agrees with our manifesto.
Won’t the DA’s reservations on BEE, affirmative action and name-changing alienate the black voters you’re trying to recruit?
More and more black voters are seeing that AA and BEE as the ANC is doing it has nothing to do with BEE and AA. They’re just a fig leaf to disguise crony deployment. When the ANC puts friends, families and political associates into positions and calls it BEE and AA, fewer and fewer people believe them. And when the cronies fail, poor people suffer. We believe in broadening opportunity for all, not manipulating outcomes for cronies.
Doesn’t your rainbow-nation approach risk splitting the DA?
Everybody has bought into that vision. Everybody understands you can’t protect your own rights alone. Your rights are safe only if everybody stands up for them. We believe in protecting everybody’s rights. That’s why we draw support from every grouping.
So you don’t risk shedding support to the Freedom Front?
We may lose some support. But we appeal to a broad spectrum who understand our vision, the rule of law and a constitutional state. We’re attracting support from a broader and broader base. That’s the only pathway to the future; we have to make one nation.
Will you accept Jacob Zuma as your president if he wins and urge your supporters to do the same?
If lawyers say that the Constitution makes it impossible for Zuma to be president because of a conflict between being a head of state and an accused in a case the state brings, we must uphold the Constitution and challenge it before it happens. But if someone wins elections and that’s confirmed through a proper process, in a constitutional state you accept the outcome and your job is to persuade people to vote for you next time. You’ll have chaos and lawlessness if you say ”I don’t like the outcome and I won’t accept it”. Then you sound like Julius Malema.
Any skeletons in your cupboard you want to confess to before it’s too late?
Oh well, I’ve one husband and I’ve been a loyal wife. We have two children and I’ve raised them, though I haven’t been a perfect mother. As for bribes, no one’s offered me anything.