Why is the DA strategy focusing on discrediting the ANC? Is this not a bad move that can backfire?
We launched the Know Your DA campaign and didn’t mention the ANC at all. We believe that we are a brand that is strong enough to stand on its own. Instead, there are people who are peddling lies that the DA will bring back apartheid if it is voted into power. This is untrue. Supporters of the party – right from Helen Suzman and Colin Eglin to former PAC leader and now DA mayor of Cape Town Patricia de Lille and former ANC member and DA member Joe Seremane – were opposed to apartheid. Why would they want to bring it back if they fought against it?
The DA received 16% of the total votes in the last general elections. What is your target for 2014?
We are aiming for 30%. It is possible. We’re growing. It’s consistent with our performance in the past. During the local government elections in 2011 we saw one in three people voting for the DA – at least here in Gauteng.
Which provinces are you planning to take over?
We are going to work hard to take over Gauteng and the Northern Cape. We’re also going to consolidate our support in the Western Cape. We won’t make the assumption that because we are in government we will be in government until Jesus Christ comes back. Our aim is to govern another province. People are inviting us in several provinces, saying: “Come and govern us.”
Why is the DA confident that it will get more votes – both in rural and urban areas – in the upcoming national elections?
We’ve seen growth in many regions. [For instance] in the last elections we got much more than 35% in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane. We have a brand of politics that appeals to everyone – to the urban and rural voter. The material conditions of South Africans are not getting better. There are increasing levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality. We are also targeting the new voter bloc of about three million young people who will be voting for the first time in 2014.
How are you going to campaign in these urban and rural regions?
We have what is called “blue blitz weekends”. This will see DA public representatives engage in outreach campaigns to train new members and activists in preparation for the elections. We will host blue blitz weekends once a month until a month before next year’s elections.
How much in terms of resources has the DA put in place in order to achieve a target of 30% of the total votes during the upcoming national polls?
For the past local government elections, the DA spent R70-million. The ANC spent that money on T-shirts alone. We don’t have the money that the ANC has but we are hoping to raise more money for this campaign. We’ve got to go out there and raise funds. We’ll be launching a campaign to say how people can help us win this election. We don’t have enough money to match the ANC. They’ve got more money than us. We’ve got to punch above our weight.