The official opposition in South Africa, the Democratic Alliance (DA) elected a new executive chairperson at the weekend. The results were not quite what anybody expected just a few weeks ago. Helen Zille, the former party leader and a fierce liberal fundamentalist, returned out of political retirement to manage the party that had previously tried to sideline her. How did this come about?
During the last few years the oppositions prominence was mainly enforced by the entrenched fight against the corruption, cronyism and mismanagement of the Zuma government. The then president was regularly dragged to court by the opposition parties, who stumbled over themselves to join court cases against the president. Through Zuma’s many shortcomings, he was an easy target and the opposition parties used it to gain voters favor. Now, that the ruling ANC has a new president in Ramaphosa, who seems to be the polar opposite of Zuma, the opposition parties are left in limbo trying to display their relevance. Their true political foundations seem hypocritical; the far-left EFF who purport themselves as the fighters for the poor drowse their thirst with expensive champagne and use money looted from the poor to fund the leaders lavish lifestyles. The leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), which essentially has been the only constant liberal opposition to the apartheid regime, represent for years by the lone but powerful voice of Helen Suzman, said that anyone who wants to form a “true liberal political party” is welcome to leave the DA. It is confusing, but the DA wants to endorse liberal values but supports race-based policies.
As the opposition parties scramble to find their political compass, lets reflect in broad terms global developments over the last 200 years. Humans have never before experienced such an upliftment in their standard of living. They have never had such freedom to practice any religion they want to, and they have never been able to express their opinions as freely as they can today. Babies have never had a greater chance of reaching adulthood, girls and boys have never had such good prospects of working in the profession they dreamed of. Never before have so many people been allowed to vote so regularly for their political leaders, and never before have so few people had to starve or die of preventable diseases. More people than ever own their own homes. They can afford luxuries like travel and cars or spend their savings on fashion and lifestyle.
All of this was only possible because of the emergence of liberalism as the major political force. The American and French revolutions were based on this philosophy. Liberals believe that everybody is equal and as such should have freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of movement. There should be no racial division or gender discrimination. The government has a central but limited role to make sure that the economy is free and fair, and that the best companies and the most hard-working entrepreneurs and employees get rewarded for it. Policies are based on facts rather than fiction and populations come together to archive a common goal – a more prosperous future for everyone.
No other political philosophy has done more to bring about the good in human societies.
Whereas 80% of world population lived in absolute poverty 200 years ago, less than 10% do these days. In the 1950’s Belgium had a GDP per capita similar to that of Lesotho today. Ever since the Chinese government adopted more liberal ideas 30 years ago, the world poverty rate halved, the Chinese economy and the world economy has thrived. Whereas communism proved to be a destructor of wealth and well-being, liberalism was the contributor.
What can be so wrong in being a liberal party in South Africa today, especially if you have the credentials dating back at least 60 years? I would have thought that it is easy for Mmusi Maimane to build on that, and clearly differentiate the DA from the ANC and the rest of the political spectrum. For a country still scarred by the racial segregated policies of the apartheid regime, it would be appreciated to have one party that preached the non-racial gospel, one that preached inclusivity and one that talks about South Africans rather than referring to the subgroups based on their skin color.
The ANC-lite policies of Maimane probably caused so many voters to turn to Helen Zille for leadership. It is time for the DA to get back to its roots and make decisions on merits rather than skin color and promote policies based on helping the poor and vulnerable rather than on racial averages. It is time to build a better future for all South Africans, because after all, we are all just that, South Africans.