New face of South Africa's opposition
New opposition leader Helen Zille faces the difficult task of winning over voters aligned with the dominant ANC.
from the May 21, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
But Zille's achievements in Cape Town – improved social services and roads, reduced corruption and crime – have depended on the support of a shaky seven-party coalition.
ANC stalwarts have attempted several times to topple Zille's rule by splitting up her coalition, and now that Zille has a second job – as head of DA – some of her coalition allies are starting to grumble.
Can she win over black voters?
Zille's insistence on focusing on issues such as good governance and economic liberalism make her a darling of the South African media. But the larger question is whether a battle of ideas will actually work in a political culture defined by historic injustice, racial prejudice, and loyalty to one's own ethnic roots.
"Unless they want to be a minority party forever, they have to build an interracial coalition, because you don't govern South Africa with just 10 to 12 percent of the vote," says Achille Mbembe, a political scientist at Witswatersrand University in Johannesburg.
"The DA is plagued by the question of how to be white in South Africa without apartheid," says Mr. Mbembe. "If they don't come up with an answer to this question, they'll play the role of a white trade union, always complaining."
Zille admits that the changes she wants to see in South Africa will be a "long, slow haul," but she resists pessimism.
"Look, the ANC are being racial nationalists, and the temptation is very great to do that, because it's a common thing all over the world. That is the easiest, cheapest way to win support," she says.
The only answer is to gather people who agree on broad, central issues, and build a coalition for change, she adds. "It's hard to see how that can make a difference, but over time, it can."
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