Raenette Taljaard

Raenette Taljaard (born 4 July 1972), also known as Raenette Gottardo, is a South African academic and former politician. She represented the Democratic Party (DP) and Democratic Alliance (DA) in the National Assembly from June 1999 until her resignation at the end of 2004. She later served stints as director of the Helen Suzman Foundation and as a member of the Electoral Commission of South Africa.

Quotes

• every single strategy meeting continued to be held in the same cloistered confines of white male comfort.
  • [1]
• It would mean unquestioning loyalty and assumed support for his positions in debates and internal caucus votes — something I was not able to give at all times
  • [2]
• “It was not only that the tone of South African politics had altered and become ever more acrimonious, but that I could not ignore how ill at ease I felt in representing the DA.
  • [3]
• I was deeply averse to engaging in war-like posturing with ANC colleagues whose intentions and motivations were similar to my mine — although we held widely divergent views on how best to achieve our common goals,”
  • [4]
• I left feeling somewhat uneasy about his defensive tone and his choice of words.
  • [5]
• On the surface, ours was an amicable conversation, but I could feel the latent anger in his seven-page hand-written let.”
  • [6]