There’s more chaff to winnow on May 29

Change Starts Now leader Roger Jardine was the butt of jokes this week after he failed to get us to change. Many others will soon discover that it is, indeed, easier said than done.

But I have a lot of time for people who start something, who offer solutions, even if Jardine’s were half-cooked. A for effort, the cool kids on social media will say.

As a country, we must have respect for the doers, more appreciation for those who dare to put the building blocks in place even if the outcome is limited without accepting mediocrity.

The challenges are many, the solutions and, importantly, the implementers, are fewer.

In the coming elections, many people will eat humble pie like Jardine has.

They will discover the fallacy behind the idea that it simply takes large amounts of money to gain a following. There’s obviously much more involved. Former president Jacob Zuma is already discovering it’s costing an arm and a leg to grow his Umkhonto we Sizwe Party outside KwaZulu-Natal. And he’s also finding out that the “weak” ANC of Cyril Ramaphosa is giving him a run for his money in his back yard.

It is using, among others, Zuma’s erstwhile “beste boomba” Zweli Mkhize to explain some of the manifesto priorities and Malusi Gigaba, the blue-eyed boy of the state capture years, to explain economic policy. It also conveniently relaxed step-aside rules to allow former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede to help it to fill Moses Mabhida Stadium for its manifesto rally.

While some will say these are signs of desperation, there are those in the ANC who understand that realpolitik requires them to do what’s necessary to fend off a flurry of challenger brands in this election.

Even Duduzane Zuma will discover that it’s easy to support daddy as Duduzile Zuma has done, but much harder to start and sustain something meaningful that resonates with sufficient numbers of people.

He will find voters are not stupid; they remember that he was driving around in his Porsche causing fatal

Roger Jardine saw the writing on the wall quite quickly, but many more politicians will be eating dirt on May 30

accidents at the height of Guptamania.

In the end, talk is indeed cheap. Jardine didn’t even deserve the publicity he got. While his departure from our political stage is paradoxically both sad but welcome, it allows us to focus attention on parties who can offer more than hot air.

I have a lot of time for Build One South Africa boss Mmusi Maimane, because I feel he has something constructive to contribute. I also feel he was prematurely removed by the blue party, which used him as an experiment before reverting to type.

I also have a lot of time for Songezo Zibi’s Rise Mzansi because I believe in the ideas it’s putting on the ground, funding woes notwithstanding.

The EFF, on the other hand, is feeling the squeeze because key players can see the damage it’s likely to inflict on so many political parties in this election. The ANC is trying to collapse their unofficial coalition arrangements in metros and the DA has publicly declared it will never work with the EFF.

But further, the EFF has invested in the psychology of stadiums and huge political rallies, challenging the ANC’s dominance in this space.

If Jardine couldn’t fill a playground at a school near his family home and his party collapses but the EFF and ANC can fill the FNB, Mbombela and Moses Mabhida stadiums, what, in the mind of ordinary voters, does this suggest?

The message is clear: the EFF is saying there are only two big parties in the country and therefore there are only two main choices in this election. The ANC too is saying it’s not wilting, it is a strong contender, even if its knees have taken a hammering.

Whether those in the stadiums are registered to vote and, if they are, whether they will vote for the parties concerned, no-one alive can tell us for sure.

What we do know is that other parties, including the DA, whose supporters carried umbrellas to create the impression of a huge crowd at its manifesto rally in Tshwane, will not try to fill up the FNB Stadium between now and May 29.

The next few weeks will be interesting. Jardine, like many, underestimated the electorate. As a banker, he thinks money makes the world go round. But alas, the South African voter is a tad more intelligent. Good for him to notice this in time.

Many others are about to be surprised on the evening of May 29 with their worst nightmares confirmed by noon the following day.