Africa-Press – South-Africa. Incumbent DA leader John Steenhuisen says if the DA wanted to be effective and relevant, it should learn to pick issues by the impact they’d have on the lives of ordinary South Africans.
According to Steenhuisen the party should not allow themselves to become distracted from these issues by the news cycle of the day.
On Sunday morning, Steenhuisen addressed DA delegates at the party’s 2023 elective congress hours before the announcement of the election results.
“Again, easier said than done. The cut and thrust of politics, particularly in today’s online, social media world, is designed to pull you into arguments and disputes. Before you know it, you’re fighting on an issue that is nowhere near the thing you said you were going to focus on.
“But I knew that we’d have to show incredible issue and messaging discipline if we wanted to make an impact and prove to South Africans that the DA is the only party fighting for the things that matter in their lives,” Steenhuisen said.
According to Steenhuisen, his mandate was to stabilise an unstable party.
This was done by anchoring the DA to its values amid critique and political noise.
“That was how we would ultimately prove the doubters wrong, turn the DA around and claw back all the ground we’d lost, not only in the 2019 elections but also in the subsequent years as this break in our momentum continued to affect us in by-elections. I’m delighted to report that the most accurate polling numbers available to us indicate that we have managed to do all of this, and more,” he said.
Steenhuisen said DA members have shown where the party’s heart lies.
“You have shown that the DA truly cares. People won’t forget that. Of course, this fight is not won yet. But we are in the ring, fighting for the zero-rating of food products, fighting for fuel levies to be cut, fighting for dignity for poor and hungry South Africans. Just as we were the first and the only party in KZN when communities were under siege from rioters,” he said.
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