Psychological Political Battles


By Mvusi Ngubane    26-Apr-2013 18:03 UTC+02:00 2

Almost 20 years into the new era and yet the past still haunts even those who have barely experienced it. Helen Zille truly has to put up with a lot as her political party, the Democratic Alliance, in accordance with the opinions of many young black South Africans, is seen as the face of apartheid.

According to a recent survey conducted by Pondering Panda among 3009 South Africans between the ages of fifteen to thirty-five, 54% of the black youth that had been questioned expressed that they believed that the DA, if put into power in next years election, would revert to apartheid.

Now, before you drop your Stephen King novels in hopelessness, there is more…

The black youth are not alone in this misty cloud of ignorance. The survey goes on to reveal that 26% of Indians questioned also subscribed to the idea that the DA would want an apartheid rule over South Africa as do 21% of coloureds and 19% of whites.

Albeit, it seems as is if the DA is not dis-hearted, are well-aware of these conceptions and have sprung into action. According to a weekly newsletter published by the DA’s Helen Zille on Sunday, Madam Zille proposed to launch the ‘Know Your DA’ campaign. The main intention of this campaign is to develop a mutual understanding among the public: that the African National Congress was not alone in the struggle for freedom.

In the newsletter, Zille insinuatingly quoted  George Orwell: “Who controls the present, controls the past. Who controls the past, controls the future.”

The DA aims to let the nation know that the ANC was not amongst a large number of organisations and individuals who lead the fight against the apartheid regime. “South Africans need to know that the ANC did not always provide the only, or even the most important, opposition to segregation and apartheid,” stated the DA leader.

It is apparent from the survey that the ANC is currently greatly favoured among the South African youth. These views should play a large role in next year’s national election.

 



 2 Comments


  1. danny says:

    Worrying stuff.

  2. Obed says:

    Zille is white. With her still the president, most people will continue to believe that voting DA means returning the country to white people.

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