The DA may have done a good political job during Covid-19 – but will it matter?

Global calamities such as Covid-19 can severely test democracies and their leaders’ commitment to their citizens’ freedom. For democracies to endure, strong and working opposition parties are not only necessary, they are crucial. So far, the DA has been able to make a relatively good showing during the pandemic. 

This is largely because of the visibility being given to and used by its interim leader, John Steenhuisen. It is, however, still too early to say if this will translate into more votes for the party.

As the pandemic took hold of South Africa, the DA was in a difficult place. Its leader Mmusi Maimane had left the party, as had Herman Mashaba, the mayor of Johannesburg. The DA subsequently lost control of Joburg, and then, through a decision by the Gauteng Provincial Government, political control of Tshwane too. Steenhuisen was appointed interim leader and was due to face Mbali Ntuli and John Moodey in a leadership contest.

All of that seems to have occurred in another time, another place.

Moments of national crisis against an apolitical, invisible foe (such as a virus) can be testing for opposition parties. No one wants to be seen to be undermining the national effort. It is not good sense, for example, to be seen without a face mask. At the same time, an opposition party can lose its identity if it is seen to support government too closely.

It is a tricky territory to navigate.

Steenhuisen has been very successful in keeping the party (and himself) in the public eye. He has used all of the tricks of the trade to achieve this. There have been well-crafted public statements, questions of true public interest in Parliament, a quick response to developments and a general will to engage.

The acres of airtime that have been gained by the DA, and Steenhuisen in particular, is in stark contrast to that garnered by the EFF. Its leader, Julius Malema, has been almost silent until recently.

For Steenhuisen, being the public face of the DA so often during this difficult time has almost certainly ensured that he will win the party’s leadership election, when it is eventually held. His rivals for the position, Ntuli and Moodey, have been almost silenced by the pandemic. Some might even have forgotten that he faces competition at all.