[imagesource: Trevor Samson/Business Day]
We regret to inform you that Helen’s at it again.
Zille has been criticised in recent times by the likes of former Jozi mayor Herman Mashaba, and there’s no denying that her return to the Democratic Alliance, as federal council chairperson, has caused strife within the party.
You might say she came in like a wrecking ball, with the DA thrown into turmoil after their awful 2019 election results, but her most damaging statements tend to take place on her Twitter account.
She actually shut down her public account back in February, opening a heavily-vetted private account for “people interested in rational debate only”, but I guess she missed all the race-baiting, bickering, and antagonism that will now become her legacy, rather than the stellar work she once did as an anti-apartheid activist.
The latest, utterly tiresome drama was caused by tweets like this, with screenshots via @somadodafikeni:
Setting aside the de Klerk comment (a legacy that’s very much under fire), you went for the ‘more racist laws now than during apartheid’ angle?
Senior black DA members have now referred her tweets to the party’s federal legal commission (FLC) for action to be taken against her, and DA Gauteng Leader John Moodey says she has caused too much damage to the party’s image.
Former party leader Mmusi Maimane stuck the boot in, too:
Bagaetsho. No gogo formed against us shall prosper.
I read something like that somewhere. pic.twitter.com/4ZCo5Go3dP
— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) June 23, 2020
He added that “apartheid was a war crime. Apartheid was worse than anything post 1994. Those periods are not comparable”, and “we don’t need room dividers right now. That furniture always takes up space and creates clutter.”
DA interim leader John Steenhuisen has also been drawn into responding, first on Tuesday:
“Helen also made the comment that there are more racist laws now than there were under apartheid. This is not true, and I can’t see any evidence for it.”
“I have yesterday had a conversation with her directly and expressed my views on the matter. Helen has referred her tweet to the party structures to determine whether she has breached any rules or regulations of the party.”
Not exactly a stinging rebuke.
More fallout via EWN:
Other DA members also expressed their views on Zille’s tweet, with DA MP Mbali Ntuli saying Zille’s views were one of the reasons she was running for the party’s top position.
Ntuli said on Twitter that she was flooded with messages from people asking her to speak out against Zille, but added concerns must be raised with the DA’s interim leader.
DA Shadow Minister of Communications, Phumzile Van Damme, took to Twitter for a chat with Zille:
I appreciate you have over 1 million followers and you may not see this. I would WhatsApp you, like the professionalism I extend to you by discussing your tweets internally. But it seems you’re interested in a public discussion, so @helenzille, what exactly do you mean? pic.twitter.com/tR7xc7QHpK
— Phumzile Van Damme (@zilevandamme) June 24, 2020
Yes, Helen responded.
Bored yet? It’s the same cycle, on repeat, year after year.
What’s so staggering about all of this isn’t whether or not you agree with Zille’s views, or think they stand up to criticism, or even if you think she should be allowed to say and do as she pleases.
It’s that the DA is coming off the back of an election humbling, and the only way to turn things around is to broaden its support base.
The Freedom Front Plus already took a hefty chunk of white voters, so it follows that for the party to succeed, and remain the official opposition, it will need to attract non-white voters in greater numbers.
How does controversy like this aid those efforts, in any way, shape, or form? We have a criminally inept ruling party that sold the country’s soul to the highest bidder for more than a decade, and an official opposition that keeps getting dragged into the same mess.
Yet, the tweeting persists.
[source:ewn]
