The DA is the only party in South Africa that has grown in every national election and that trend must continue, and it must accelerate, because South Africa is in a race against time to save our democracy.

Having a Facebook and Twitter profile allows me to keep more in touch with people, particularly young South Africans and those who are part of the online community. I was amazed that anyone might be interested in what I do and who I meet. Now I know what people will be interested in.

All technological breakthroughs start with a small "elite". Think about cellphones, for example. Now just about everyone has one. The same will happen to innovations such as Twitter.

Connecting with people is an important part of my role [as a politician].

Between Twitter and Facebook I have nearly 70,000 followers, so my colleagues receive the responses. They show some of them to me, and I am always interested to read what people have to say. I filter all the information that reaches me, from letters in the newspaper, to conversations. There are many influences that shape my decisions, and often people on Twitter are thinking along the same lines as I do on an issue.

We will see at the end of the day. I don't like to speculate. Our goal in this election is to do better than in the last one.

The DA is the only party in South Africa that has grown in every national election and that trend must continue, and it must accelerate, because South Africa is in a race against time to save our democracy.