Associations of Figures in The Western Cape

Tentative Conclusions

The data splits across the socio-economic spectrum. Voters in higher socio-economic strata are considerably more generous in their perceptions about whether the provincial ruling party cares about them than is the case for voters in lower socio-economic strata. This finding mirrors a core insight that has emerged from the current series of reports that the Foundation is publishing about the Western Cape. However, what this report also identifies is that voters in lower socio-economic strata tend to identify provincial opposition politicians as populist and insincere. A marker to watch in the provincial politics is therefore whether the ruling Democratic Alliance can craft strategies that win the confidence of poorer voters, or whether, failing that, opposition leaders in the province are able to present themselves as viable and serious alternatives. There is also the outstanding question of how the provincial ANC and EFF leaders in the Western Cape are perceived. The Foundation has not yet tested that given that these leaders are largely unknown, even in their own communities. What the Foundation has however found in previous reports is that the EFF is making significant inroads into black voters in the province which must be ascribed to the prominence of its national leadership.