Election may bring strange bedfellows

The Democratic Alliance (DA) must be well aware that it has an enormous political mountain to climb to unseat the ANC government. And, if it wants to achieve that goal, it will have to accept some unpalatable realities. The first of these is that, notwithstanding the speechifying by its partners in the “moonshot pact” – otherwise known as the Multi-Party Charter SA – they do not have the electoral muscle to ensure the ANC gets less than 50% in the coming general election.

The only other party which does have this political clout – at least on a national basis – is the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). And despite its own populist “we are the next government” rhetoric, the EFF by itself is never going to give the ANC sleepless nights ahead of the polls.

Therefore, logic would dictate that the DA and the EFF would have to come together – either before the polls or after them – to forge the alliance which would put the ANC to the sword.

The chances of that happening, though, appear slim. And that’s being kind.

Each party presents the other as the ultimate political bogeyman. The DA paints Julius Malema and the EFF as people who want to nationalise most of the country and forcibly remove land from private holders. The EFF, for its part, accuses the DA of wanting to bring back apartheid.

Yet, already both parties are working together in various, if uncomfortable, ways in municipalities around the country.

However, in terms of ideology, the DA is far closer to the ANC than it is to the EFF, attacks by the DA on the ANC as a “communist” organisation notwithstanding.

If the ANC does lose its outright majority, then it might reach an accommodation with the DA – and the feeling might be mutual.