After Steenhuisen quits as Democratic Alliance leader, three contenders have emerged in the race to succeed him The party’s ‘grand dame’ Helen Zille, was thought to be behind the exit as she launches her campaign to become mayor of Johannesburg

#SouthAfrica’s DA succession race is on: Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, minister Solly Malatsi and WC premier Alan Winde are early names—while Helen Zille’s Joburg mayor push adds pressure to a party already split over #GNU tactics. #DemocraticAlliance

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Solly Msimanga defends DA nomination of Helen Zille as Joburg mayoral candidate amid concerns over township service delivery

"... it [the #DA] does care, the President has admitted that himself..."

- #SollyMsimanga, #Gauteng Provincial Leader - #DemocraticAlliance #HelenZille

Solly Msimanga defends DA nomination of Helen Zille as Joburg mayoral candidate amid concerns over township service delivery

"... it [the #DA] does care, the President has admitted that himself..."

- #SollyMsimanga, #Gauteng Provincial Leader - #DemocraticAlliance #HelenZille

Tariff calamity deepens rift with Washington Pretoria warns of long-term economic damage as the US weaponises trade for political pressure

#DemocraticAlliance is accused of undermining Pretoria’s US trade talks as Minister #ParksTau condemns ‘reckless statements’ amid pressure on the #ANC’s foreign policy stance. #SouthAfrica

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We interview Helen Zille: 'World’s confidence in South Africa premised on DA being in GNU' The Democratic Alliance has decided not to back the national dialogue and to vote against budgets presented by ministers linked to corruption.

We interview #HelenZille: 'World’s confidence in #SouthAfrica premised on #DA being in GNU': buff.ly/ryPueZB

The #DemocraticAlliance has decided not to back the national dialogue and to vote against budgets presented by ministers linked to corruption.

We interview Helen Zille: 'World’s confidence in South Africa premised on DA being in GNU' The Democratic Alliance has decided not to back the national dialogue and to vote against budgets presented by ministers linked to corruption.

We interview #HelenZille: 'World’s confidence in #SouthAfrica premised on #DA being in GNU': buff.ly/ryPueZB

The #DemocraticAlliance has decided not to back the national dialogue and to vote against budgets presented by ministers linked to corruption.

The fatal failure of South Africa’s political opposition While the creation of our first national coalition government was supposed to be a major change in government, it has also led to major changes in the opposition benches. Despite the fact that the coalition has failed to improve the lives of most South Africans, parties that oppose it have failed to make much headway. South Africa’s 2024 elections led to the biggest changes in the opposition benches. The Democratic Alliance (DA), which had become very effective in opposition, was suddenly in government (and taking many of its oppositional habits into the Union Buildings). A party (MK) which had never been represented in Parliament before was suddenly the Official Opposition. And was led by someone who himself had never been an MP. The previous time John Hlophe had been mentioned in the National Assembly was the day he became the first judge to be impeached in the democratic era. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), used to being able to make noise as the third-biggest party, found itself in a reduced role, even though its greater parliamentary experience has made it more effective than the uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party. And there are several smaller parties who have both tried to be oppositional to the coalition, and flirted with joining it. It is perhaps the greatest indictment of our opposition parties that despite the fact the coalition has delivered GDP growth of just 0.1%, they cannot craft an effective message. A major part of this has been the divided nature of the MK party. Considering President Jacob Zuma’s history of a lust for personal power and for wrecking institutions, this was always going to be the case. The revolving door of people in the position of secretary-general has surely created massive instability. It was also entirely predictable that the trio of Zuma, Hlophe and Floyd Shivambu was going to be about as stable as the Trump-Musk relationship. Zuma also had very few people to choose from. The fact he had to appoint someone like Mzwanele Manyi to the position of Chief Whip and then demote him is proof of that. Probably only one other individual has said more and contributed less to our politics than he. Meanwhile, Hlophe has appeared to battle with the transition from being a judge, where your instructions are simply obeyed, to leading a parliamentary caucus, where people must be persuaded. He has also not been able to deliver a single speech in Parliament that has captured the public imagination. For the Leader of the Opposition, a constitutionally mandated position, this is a massive failure. Parliamentary speeches are a massive platform for the opposition and the leader of that party should be able to use it effectively. However, as has been said many times, MK’s real problem is that there is no internal democracy and thus no durable legitimate structures. It is unlikely that this will change and thus unlikely that it will become a more effective opposition. The EFF has shown itself to be more effective than MK, partly because its members have more parliamentary experience and partly because its leader, Julius Malema, is prepared to be in Parliament and thus use its platform (unlike Zuma). That said, it still appears as if the EFF has not yet got over the shock of being relegated to the position of fourth-largest political party. Certainly, Malema appears to be unable to grab the political agenda in a way he did, say, five years ago. Even though videos featuring him were shown during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, he was unable to really insert himself into that story. It may be that Malema’s previous focus, on attacking first Zuma and then Ramaphosa so personally, has turned into a strategic weakness. Ramaphosa is not as powerful as he was and, while he may symbolise the coalition government, Malema has been unable to turn him into a hate figure.  Crucially, Malema announced at the start of this Parliament that he would no longer disrupt proceedings as he had in the past. So far, he has not been able to come up with a new tactic, or a new line of attack that has really given him traction. One of the more intriguing dynamics of this period has been the role of some of the smaller parties that are not formally in the government coalition. ActionSA has found itself in a position where it can at times support the coalition or the ANC, and then oppose it. In the hours after ActionSA took the decision to vote with the ANC to support the fiscal framework of Budget 2.0, the party’s Athol Trollip was incredibly honest when asked if ActionSA would now join the coalition. He summed up the situation for the party when he said: “If the DA leaves the GNU [Government of National Unity], whether they get kicked out or they decide to leave, the opposition space is going to get crowded and we will have to take a strategic decision. Will we still make an impact in opposition, or must we look at perhaps going into government? But that depends on the GNU, whether they want us there or not. We will wait and see, but we will make a strategic decision where we can make the greatest impact.” This revealed the options the party was dealing with in essence. But it also meant that when the ANC and the DA found each for Budget 3.0, ActionSA had to be content in the opposition benches, despite the fact voters would have known it considered joining the ANC. Build One South Africa, meanwhile, has appeared to struggle to gain traction with a consistent message. Its leader, Mmusi Maimane, has made regular media appearances and often provided principled opposition to government proposals. But it is hard to know if they have been able to really change government policy or win more votes. So far, it seems the coalition government has completely failed to make a difference to the lives of most people. Parties in opposition have failed too; they have not yet provided a credible alternative for voters. DM The post The fatal failure of South Africa’s political opposition appeared first on The Namibian.

#SouthAfrica #PoliticalOpposition #CoalitionGovernment #Elections2024 #DemocraticAlliance

#Centre-right wins election in Portugal as #Far-right makes record gains 👀 www.lusolobo.com/rightish ✏️ #DemocraticAlliance #SocialistParty #defeat #ConservativeLegislature

Senate Stablecoin Vote Divides Democrats Over Corruption The Senate’s recent vote to advance the GENIUS stablecoin framework exposed apparent rifts within the Democratic alliance. Democrats…

🚨LATEST: The Senate’s recent vote to advance the GENIUS stablecoin framework exposed apparent rifts within the Democratic alliance. Democrats… #Democraticalliance #GENIUSstablecoin #SenateStablecoinVote

DA suspends lawmaker Renaldo Gouws for using racist language against black people. #DemocraticAlliance https://fefd.link/CAgzX

Original post on social.librem.one

#Portugal’s ruling center-right #DemocraticAlliance (#AD) won a snap parliamentary #election on Sunday but again fell short of the majority needed to end a long period of instability as the far-right #Chega gained a record share of the vote […]

Portugal PM’s party wins snap election but falls short of majority Portugal’s governing right-of-centre Democratic Alliance has won snap parliamentary elections – the third in as many years – again falling short of a majority. Its leader Luís Montenegro promised supporters to “stimulate investment” and to “guarantee prosperity and social justice”. Socialist leader Pedro Nuno Santos announced his resignation after his party finished in second, and lost so many seats it ended up neck-and-neck with far-right Chega – a relatively newcomer. The Socialists could even slip behind Chega if results from voters abroad, which take a few days to come in, mirror those in last year’s election, when two out of the four seats went to Chega, and one to the Socialists. Chega leader André Ventura said the “historic” result marked the end of two-party dominance in Portugal. His campaign had focussed on the issues of immigration and corruption, and Chega was probably helped by the fact that this election and the previous one were both triggered by scandals involving the prime minister of the day. Montenegro, in his remarks to supporters, thanked both his family and the “political family” that defended him from attacks relating to deals done by a company he set up before he became party leader, and which is now owned by his sons. This was the controversy that triggered the election, after the government lost a vote of confidence. Meanwhile, Santos, in his own parting comments, reiterated his view that Montenegro was not fit to be prime minister, suggesting that the Socialist Party should not let the matter drop. – BBC The post Portugal PM’s party wins snap election but falls short of majority appeared first on The Namibian.

#Portugal #Elections2023 #PoliticalNews #DemocraticAlliance #LuisMontenegro

Portuguese PM's party claims election win, falls short of majority - Sight Magazine Portugal's centre-right Democratic Alliance claimed victory in the parliamentary election, but again fell short of a full majority.

Portuguese PM’s party claims election win, falls short of majority @sightmagazine.bsky.social #Portugal #Portugalelection #DemocraticAlliance #AD #LuisMontenegro #Chega #AndreVentura

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Portugal voters tired of repeated elections, seek stable government amid global trade worries and political gridlock. #Portugal #Election2025 #GovernmentStability #TradeTensions #VoterFatigue #DemocraticAlliance

Ex-DA MP Renaldo Gouws settles hate speech case, apologises for racist video Former Democratic Alliance member of Parliament Renaldo Gouws has apologised for a 15-year-old racist video that emerged after he was elected to public office. The apology is part of a settlement with the South African Human Rights Commission, which had brought a hate speech case against him. Former Democratic Alliance MP Renaldo Gouws has made a full and unconditional apology for a 15-year-old racist video he uploaded on YouTube, but later removed. The video resurfaced when he was sworn in as a member of Parliament in 2024. “To all South Africans and especially black South Africans, I am sorry. I am sorry for the pain, anger and trauma my words have caused. I am sorry for trying to justify, minimise and sanitise them. I know this apology does not erase what I said or did, but it is a step I must take to acknowledge the effect of my actions and begin to account for them,” said Gouws in the apology, broadcast on his YouTube channel on Thursday. He expressed a commitment to “learning, listening and doing the difficult work of repair.” “I apologise unreservedly to the people of South Africa both for the racial invective I expressed in the video itself and for taking so many years to take full responsibility for it,” he said. “I despise racism in all its forms and have always been committed to building a true nonracial South Africa. My actions over the past 15 years have clearly demonstrated this. During the period when the video in question was made, I was actively involved in charitable work for people of all races.” After the video resurfaced, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) approached the Equality Court seeking an order for Gouws to apologise, be fined R100,000, undergo diversity training and be given 20 hours’ community service. Read more: Renaldo Gouws ‘hate speech’ row — SAHRC seeks apology, community service, R100,000 fine for ex-MP In the video, Gouws is heard saying: “Alright, so there’s a couple of things I want to say. Kill the f***ing k****rs, kill all the f***ing n***ers. That’s all I gotta f***ing say. Kill all the k****rs! Kill all the f***ing n***ers!” In papers filed before the Gqeberha Equality Court, Gouws said that it was “patently false” that he called for the killing of black people in the video. He argued that this was only a snippet of the video and by itself conveyed the “completely wrong impression” of what he intended to say. The online news website IOL was sanctioned by the Press Council for not showing the full video. “I had no intention to be hurtful or harmful to incite harm or propagate hatred,” Gouws said in his affidavit before the court. “In fact, I specifically state in the video that I did not mean anything that I had said, but I wanted to evoke a response.” In his apology, he confirmed that he had met with the SAHRC on 14 May to discuss a settlement. He said they had agreed that he would issue an unconditional apology, and the case against him would be dropped. “Fifteen years ago, on 11 March 2010, while I was a 27-year-old student and not yet a political figure, I recorded and published a video on YouTube where I intended to comment on the then ANC Youth League President Julius Malema singing the words: ‘Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer.’ “I maintain that singing of those words is insensitive, divisive and deeply hurtful towards Afrikaners, especially those affected by violent crime in rural areas. However, I acknowledge that my critique itself was insensitive, divisive and deeply hurtful towards black people,” the apology began. He said that although he followed up his racist rant with a caveat that he did not mean what he said, “It was unacceptable to use such violent language to make my point.” Constitutional Court Gouws continued by saying that he accepted that the Constitutional Court had ruled that the phrases were unutterable and racist. “Further in the video,” he continued, “I described Julius Malema as an ‘ignorant, little f***ing black idiot’  and referred to those who sang along with him as ‘f***ing barbaric people’. “In the same video, I claimed that some of the policies introduced in democratic South Africa constituted a ‘new apartheid’.” He said he maintained his political view that affirmative action and Black Economic Empowerment were not being implemented fairly and constructively. But, he added that he acknowledged that this could not be equated to apartheid — a crime against humanity that stripped black people of meaningful opportunities and was enforced through murder, disappearances and arbitrary detention of political dissidents. “The video in question had been viewed over 100,000 times by people from all over the world before I removed it from YouTube in 2013 and published a Facebook post,” he said. The Facebook post Gouws refers to reads: “I will never apologise for feeling the way I did back then as there were various factors that brought out that rage in me. I will apologise though for not educating myself enough on certain topics before giving my opinion on them. “It’s only now at the age of 30, that I get it. It took me some time to look at the other side of the coin and put myself in someone else’s shoes and completely understand the effects the history of our country has had on all of us.” Gouws said he now understands that this was not an adequate apology for what he said in 2010. “More significantly, I failed to acknowledge and apologise for the deep pain and humiliation that my words undoubtedly caused to black people both at home and abroad.” He claimed that when an “edited version” of the video resurfaced after he became an MP, IOL treated him unfairly by withholding the full context of his words — a fact confirmed by the Press Council, which ordered IOL to apologise to him. Gouws also maintains that he was treated unfairly by the DA. After the video resurfaced in 2024, the party terminated his membership. He said he had apologised again for the video in 2024, but that he now accepted that his previous apologies were limited and qualified. “I use this opportunity to tender a full and unconditional apology,” he added. Remarks retracted He also withdrew previous public statements accusing the SAHRC of double standards and calling for its defunding. “I retract these remarks. The SAHRC performs vital functions in our society, including combating racial hostility and hatred, and its officials do so with dedication and care.” He condemned the actions of other social media users who vilified SAHRC officials. Gouws said he hoped that this would be the end of the matter. “I am happy with the settlement. I can now close this chapter in my life and focus on continuing doing the work I have been doing to make South Africa a better place for all.” He said he would focus on growing his businesses and his podcast, adding that he was starting a new venture with the billionaire and private investor Rob Hersov. He said he welcomed a chance to just “enjoy life”. However, he said, he wasn’t done with IOL yet. “⁠I will offer them the opportunity to publicly apologise and admit that they manipulated the video and lied to their readers. If they don’t, then I will be taking them on legally.” Gouws said in the hours after publishing his apology he had received “overwhelmingly positive” feedback. “I think everyone is just happy that I can move on from this and start the next chapter of my life.” Gouws’ attorney Willie Spies said Gouws “has committed himself to ongoing work to improve the relationship between people in South Africa. Our client has on various occasions in the past apologised for the way in which he, 15 years ago, expressed his opinion.” He said the latest apology was agreed on by Gouws and the SAHRC and Gouws was committed to working for greater “mutual respect amongst all South Africans”. The SAHRC confirmed the settlement. DM The post Ex-DA MP Renaldo Gouws settles hate speech case, apologises for racist video appeared first on The Namibian.

#HateSpeech #Racism #Apology #SouthAfrica #DemocraticAlliance

Quotas vs transformation — DA’s attack on employment equity law splits GNU After Helen Zille called the law ‘totalitarian’ and damaging to minorities in provinces like KZN and the Western Cape, the ANC hit back, reigniting a fundamental dispute over how transformation should...

Democratic Alliance creeping from behind curtain, and showing their Trumpism #southafrica #democraticalliance #racism www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025...?

The budget fight threatening to shatter the coalition Both the ANC’s Ramaphosa and the DA’s Steenhuisen are fighting to preserve power-sharing – but for vastly different reasons

When Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana failed to secure backing within the #GNU on 12 March for his proposal to raise VAT to 17% to finance this year’s budget, he handed a powerful weapon to the centre-right #DemocraticAlliance.

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2025 Budget: 'We don’t have a revenue problem; we have an expenditure problem' – DA Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is set to table the reworked 2025 National Budget next week.

"... the budget has not been decided. It is an ongoing conversation and the #DA's support will be needed..."

- Dr Mark Burke, Spokesperson on Finance - #DemocraticAlliance

2025 Budget: 'We don’t have a revenue problem; we have an expenditure problem' – DA Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is set to table the reworked 2025 National Budget next week.

"... the budget has not been decided. It is an ongoing conversation and the #DA's support will be needed..."

- Dr Mark Burke, Spokesperson on Finance - #DemocraticAlliance

Tax and spend row opens new schism in coalition The Government of National Unity’s credibility is on the line as finance minister Godongwana prepares to return to parliament with an amended budget

#SouthAfrica’s #DemocraticAlliance leader #JohnSteenhuisen’s rejection of the #VAT hike plan forced a budget delay, allowing the #DemocraticAlliance
to claim victory for stopping a general tax rise.
#EnochGodongwana
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DA wants 'brightest, best, most capable' to represent it in municipal councils The party's Federal Council chairperson, Helen Zille, said the process is not limited to party members only.

The #DemocraticAlliance says it is looking for the best of the best to represent it in municipal councils.

DA wants 'brightest, best, most capable' to represent it in municipal councils The party's Federal Council chairperson, Helen Zille, said the process is not limited to party members only.

The #DemocraticAlliance says it is looking for the best of the best to represent it in municipal councils.

South Korea's Night of Chaos: Martial Law Declared, Then Reversed - Get Buzz South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shocked the nation on Tuesday night by declaring martial law, only to reverse the decision hours later amid strong

South Korea's Night of Chaos: Martial Law Declared, Then Reversed
#MartialLaw
#YoonSukYeol
#southkorea
#DemocraticAlliance
#Backlash

getbuzz.in/2024/12/04/s...

I like to use a person's proper title.
#dr #doctor #democraticalliance #da #minister #homeaffairs #Ukrainian

It’s Friday folks. #FollowBackFriday #FBPPR #PR #ProEU #FBPE #ProgressiveAlliance #DemocraticAlliance