If the DA Becomes the ANC, Anxiety will be Tangible in the Cape

Jun 19, 2025

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It looks as though the DA is becoming the ANC. If this does happen, anxiety will be tangible in the Cape. How should we respond to this trajectory?

I recently discovered an article by Martin Van Staden that made me wonder if the Democratic Alliance (DA) is turning into a version of the African National Congress (ANC) right before our eyes.

In his article, Van Staden highlights several data points that illustrate this shift within the DA. Here are a few examples.

  • DA minister Dean Macpherson appeared on stage at NAMPO this year defending the Expropriation Act —legislation historically opposed by the DA, but backed by the ANC.
  • Party leader Steenhuisen, appeared to back the Act, downplaying fears by insisting there was no “mass” land confiscation underway. This argument avoids the legal issue at the heart of the matter: the law now allows for nil compensation.
  • While the DA is currently challenging the Expropriation Act in court, it is doing so not on the substantive grounds of property rights, but rather on procedural technicalities.
  • In February (2025), Steenhuisen endorsed two AgriBEE instruments, the type of policy the ANC has long supported. When business group Sakeliga raised concerns, Steenhuisen publicly denounced the organization, claiming his actions were legally required.

These recent developments within the DA go far beyond the period under Mmusi Maimane, when the party was accused of flirting with ANC-style rhetoric. Under Steenhuisen, the ideological shift is being enacted in policy.

Some within the DA argue that the views and actions of Steenhuisen and Macpherson do not represent the party as a whole. Yet, a party goes where its leadership leads. Without active resistance from within, dissenting voices will being drowned out by inertia.

Warnings about the risks of a formal coalition with the ANC were raised as early as 2022, with some analysts predicting that the DA would be co-opted unless it took a harder strategic stance. Those predictions now seem relevant.

Each new concession justified as “pragmatic” chips away at the DA’s identity as a distinct political alternative. The party’s ideological proximity to the ANC may still be imperceptible to some, but the lines are blurring fast.

When the public realizes what the DA is becoming, I suspect that there will be a palpable sense of anxiety in the streets of the Cape.

The reason why is because the DA has long been seen as the last political vehicle with the capacity to build a better future. If it morphs into the ANC, we won’t just lose our best chance at constructive governance, we’ll also be left without the political will to resist the destructive social policies of the ANC, EFF, and MK.

The situation has become a defining crisis for the party. Unless we push back publicly and substantively, the DA risks becoming the ANC.

We also need to take steps toward non-political solutions.

The Cape Report is an independent newspaper based in the Cape of Good Hope, dedicated to shedding light on the issues that really matter.

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