Text of the Editorial that appeared in the Cape Times, May 16 2011
Cheap shot
AN outsider plunged into South Africa in the past weeks would surely have been bemused by the dismal tone of this election campaign.
Elevated debate has been rare. Cheap shots and mud-slinging have instead been the order of the day, with the ANC finding the perfect proponent in its Youth League leader Julius Malema (how much longer will his party allow its traditions to be undermined by his racism and poor taste insults of political opponents?).
The media has, as usual, also been pilloried for its supposed agendas.
By contrast, the DA appeared to have attempted to steer clear of playing the man instead of the ball. Until this weekend, that is. DA strategist Ryan Coetzee issued a statement, which was soon published online, in which he took exception to reportage by Cape Times reporter Babalo Ndenze (see here).