Cool response to DA coalition call

2008-08-29 09:43

Michael Hamlyn

Cape Town - Helen Zille, the leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance, admitted on Thursday evening that the response to her party's call for a coalition of opposition parties has been cool.

Giving the 2008 Annual CR Swart Memorial Lecture at the University of the Free State, Zille said the DA's goal is to realign politics and re-shape the configuration of political parties, drawing a clear line between those who believe in constitutionalism and those who do not.

"This realignment will not hinge on opposition parties alone, since it is not just opposition parties that care about the Constitution," she said.

"There are many in the ANC who seek to defend the Constitution and who are appalled by the growing trend of anti-constitutionalism in their own party. But it will take them a long time to make the essential break because allegiance to a liberation movement becomes part of one's identity and the bonds are strong."

Coalition of opposition parties

It is therefore vital, she said, to form a coalition of opposition parties that understands they have a joint responsibility to defend the Constitution in order to offer hope to voters and bring them out in large numbers in next year's election. "I and my party have been working hard behind the scenes to secure this outcome," she said.

But she acknowledged: "In truth, the response has been limited. One opposition leader remarked that such a coalition is a bad idea because we shouldn't gang up on the ANC.

"I was muted in my response to this statement because it is not appropriate for opposition parties, at this crucial juncture, to waste time and resources fighting each other. But I thought, at minimum, I had to point out how truly ludicrous it is to suggest that an attempt to curb the power of a party that already has a 74% majority in Parliament amounts to 'ganging up'.

"This kind of response demonstrates to me that, despite all that has happened, some parties still have not fathomed what the role of opposition is in South Africa today.

"I suspect that the real reason for this lukewarm response is that the leaders of individual parties do not wish to abdicate their own fiefdoms. After all, it is easier - and far less risky - to defend a dunghill than it is to move a mountain."

- I-Net Bridge (News24)