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People in Johannesburg think that the Democratic Alliance (DA) is doing better than the African National Congress (ANC) in the Government of National Unity (GNU).

This is according to polling, conducted in February and March, that was conducted by the Social Research Foundation (SRF), in conjunction with The Common Sense.

Respondents were given the names of political parties in the GNU and were asked: “Are they performing well or poorly in the Government of National Unity?”

For the ANC, 39% said they thought the party was performing well, while 46% said it was performing poorly. Fourteen percent did not answer the question or were unsure.

For the DA, 65% said they thought the party was performing well in the GNU, while 16% said they thought it was performing poorly, with 19% saying they were undecided or did not answer the question.

People were asked their views on three other parties that are in the GNU – the Patriotic Alliance (PA), the Freedom Front Plus (FF+), and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

Twenty-two percent thought the PA was performing well, 18% thought it was performing poorly, and 60% were undecided.

For the IFP, 35% thought it was performing well, 20% thought it was performing poorly, and 45% were unsure.

Finally, for the FF+, the proportion of people who thought it was performing well was 25%, while 17% thought it was performing poorly. A large proportion were undecided at 58%.

This bodes well for the DA, which is also polling above the ANC in the city, ahead of the upcoming local government elections, which will be held in November.

The DA had the support of 39% of respondents in the city, against 30% who said they would support the ANC. However, this poll was conducted before the Constitutional Court ruled that President Cyril Ramaphosa has a case to answer regarding the money stolen from his Phala Phala farm. In addition, the poll was conducted before Helen Zille, the DA’s mayoral candidate for the city, had kicked her campaign into high gear. These, and other factors, could mean the DA is now polling higher in the city.

The next SRF/The Common Sense poll will be released in the middle of next month, which will provide some clarity into the state of political play in South Africa’s biggest city.