(Stefanie) Steve Hofmeyr: The Afrikaner Moses? Douglas Gibson 06 November 2013 Douglas Gibson on why he thinks not... Is Steve Hofmeyr, the Afrikaans singer, the new Moses? Readers of The Citizen may be amazed, or even amused, at the question but in some circles people are talking about voting for him. The White Right constantly seeks a new charismatic leader to lead them to the new promised land. Some want self-determination for Afrikaners within a confederation; some think Hofmeyr is the man to get them there. The Right Wing ideologue, Dan Roodt, caused a stir recently with an article he wrote in Praag. He dismissed the Freedom Front Plus as a dying party consisting of a few professional politicians. He disavowed politics and placed his hopes largely on Hofmeyrs Red October movement. Red October pinched the SA Communist Partys use of that name and staged demonstrations here and overseas. It was a successful stunt; they enraged the communists and attracted much media coverage. Hofmeyr has an interesting history. I was at school with his father, also Steve, and with his uncle, Danny de Waal. General Louis Botha, first prime minister of the Union of South Africa, was their great grandfather, and Mrs Helen de Waal, Louis Bothas daughter, was their grandmother. She was a notable matriarch and United Party stalwart whom I met in 1960. The general was the leader of the South African Party (SAP), dedicated to uniting Afrikaans and English-speaking South Africans, and opposed by the National Party, then promoting Afrikaner interests. Hofmeyrs views are nothing like those of Louis Botha. He has moved to a position on the extreme right of our politics, to the extent that he is dismissed by many, fairly or unfairly, as a racist. There is a group (not large) of younger Afrikaans-speakers who reject politics as being irrelevant, vow to stay away from the polls, but also talk about voting for Steve Hofmeyr, if he will stand. For which party, one asks? One wonders whether the FF+ will try to put him on their election list as one way of keeping him quiet and using him to save themselves. Their problem is that there is every indication they will attract even less support in 2014 than they did in the last elections. The deputy ministership of Agriculture occupied by leader Dr Pieter Mulder has not been a success. He has not been able to do anything and he is seen as fatally compromised by the embrace of President Zuma, whom he attacks ritually every now and then before lapsing into silence. He should have paid more attention to Tony Leons rejection of President Mandelas offer of a full ministership. Leon declined on the grounds that the ANC needed more opposition, not less. People know that this is just as valid today. Dan Roodt and his co-believers do not explain how a confederal state will be achieved. Amending the constitution requires a two-thirds majority in parliament. Is it achievable if right-wingers boycott the political process and stay away from the polls? The support for this view is small and the overwhelming majority of Afrikaans voters will continue supporting the Democratic Alliance instead of chasing after unattainable nonsense. President Steve Hofmeyr is not on. Douglas Gibson is former Opposition Chief Whip and the former ambassador to Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @dhmgibson This article first appeared in The Citizen.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 18:35:33 +0000
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