Video: Helen Zille emerges from spinning BMW in Johannesburg election stunt

DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille has taken her Johannesburg election campaign to the racetrack, emerging from a smoke-filled BMW in a stunt aimed at driving home her promise to turn the city around ahead of the 4 November elections.

The veteran politician has spent the campaign finding unconventional ways to draw attention to Johannesburg’s service delivery challenges, from visiting a burst water pipe repair site to directing traffic at a busy intersection.

Now, she has added a spinning car to the mix.

In a new video, Zille climbs behind the wheel of a modified navy-blue BMW as the car performs tight donuts and high-speed manoeuvres across a paved arena, sending clouds of tyre smoke into the air.

Wearing a bucket hat and glasses, she later leans out of the driver’s window with a message aimed squarely at voters.

‘Other parties will spin you stories. We’ll spin into action,’ she says.

From city streets to spinning tyres

The stunt is the latest in a series of attention-grabbing moments from Zille’s campaign, which has focused on what the Democratic Alliance says is the deterioration of South Africa’s biggest city.

Previous appearances have included snorkelling at a burst water pipe repair site, directing traffic at a busy intersection, entering the abandoned Metro Centre and taking over the decks at a Johannesburg nightclub.

Each appearance has offered a different visual representation of the DA’s central campaign message: that Johannesburg needs a change in direction.

With election day approaching on 4 November, the latest video continues that strategy, using spectacle and humour to turn a political message into something designed to travel across social media.

Zille says she is ready to change direction

Addressing speculation about the stunt in a social media post, Zille confirmed that she had taken part in the spin over the weekend.

‘And on November 4 I’m spinning Joburg in a new direction!’ she wrote, urging voters to support the DA on both ballots.

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