DA Congress Signals Generational Shift Amid High-Stakes Power Dynamics

Deep brief report with the world-winning journalist, Kwanita Hanta.

Kwanita, Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakat.

Welcome to Radio-Islam International.

O alaikum, Islam, Shukran, for having me again, man.

So the DA's upcoming federal congress may appear predictable on the surface,

but you argue that there are deeper shifts at play.

What are the most important dynamics people need to keep in mind here?

All right, so on the most front, but by the end of tonight,

we would know who actually will be contesting for the DA's conference

and a congress, and who will be on the ballot.

The nomination process will close tonight.

But so whether Jordan and Lewis will be contested as the leader of the

democratic alliance or not.

Now, this congress is important for the DA for two things.

One is that it is the second largest party in South Africa.

And second, that there is real power on the table.

Who leads the DA determines to a big part how they function and how they play

in coalitions.

But more importantly, the reflections of the last two terms of

strandsteen hazen as a party, not in terms of government, not in terms of

the policies, but as a party, is that he was not able to show growth,

electoral growth.

So now, when you look at all of the people that are contesting elections in

the DA, you see a major, major shift that most, if not all of those who would

be elected to lead the democratic alliance are millennials, people under the

age of 45, which is a big move for country like South Africa, where you see,

despite the fact that the population is so young, it's seen that our politics

have always been very, very old.

You say that there's real power at play here.

The question I wanted to ask is that looking at John Stein, Hazel's leadership,

I mean, did he really have the power or was it Helen Zilla behind the scene and

a team that was controlling and steering the policy and the trajectory of the

party? I mean, you see in the leader up to the formation of the GNU, the party

leader was hardly active in on that front and then the shots were called from

behind the scene.

So is there real power vested in the leader or is it a different kind of dynamic here?

So there was definitely that reality with John Stein, Hazel, and it's been spoken

about quite a bit, even from party members, to say that the party needs to get

to a point where the leader has organic support.

And so there's a lot of questions about, you know, if Jordan Hilowis is successful

to become the DA leader, how does he do that while still being mayor of Cape Town?

Because he is made very clear that he does not want to leave his mayor.

He will contest the mayor's ship at the end of the year.

And so what does that mean in terms of power and

cohesion on a national level?

But you see other positions that are also up for grabs, the position of

chairperson of the federal council, that was what Helen Zillowis in terms of

like almost being the secretary general of the party.

The president had testing that is her protégé, as you know,

Serupin, who is the deputy minister of finance.

He's up against someone called Werner Horn.

So there's definitely power plays, but what you see is that it's

a single generation, people who spend, you know, they're working

life last 15 years or so, working for the democratic alliance in different

positions. So it's a ship from in the past where you go to the DA Congress and

you'd have this parachuting in of people from the outside.

And that's why you also have that scenario that emerged where there was

sort of power vested somewhere else.

And then you had these leaders that were helicoptered in.

So that was important.

But you mentioned one of the GNU.

And I think that's going to be the most important thing.

I don't see the democratic alliance Congress in any way coming out,

you know, swinging against the GNU.

I think the DA is very comfortable.

But there is a question in terms of coalitions brought the internally in

the DA, who makes the decisions to stay or to exit from coalitions.

Right now, it's basically the national leaders, a group of 10 people,

make that decision.

Yes, when they were consulting about the GNU, they call the greater

federal council, which is almost the equivalent of the A and C's national

executive committee about 150 or so people.

Right.

But, but this time,

there is a proposal, a constitutional amendment to say that they have to be

abroad decision, especially now when there's going to be local elections

and municipalities.

It's going to be interesting because what the proposal on the table is

that the DA leadership can't impose and say, enter into a coalition

agreement, so and so, or exit.

You know, it has to be the provincial structures that recommend and that's

how the decision is taken in the past.

It was argued that the DA had a very centralized way of deciding about

coalitions because it insulates the party from vested interests.

So if I am a mayor, for example, in a municipality and I actually enjoy

the fact that I get blue lights or whatever, but it's not the partnership

is not servicing the democratic alliance, then, you know, I can't make

the decision whether I, whether the DA stays or not.

So that was an interesting dynamic and I'll be interested to watch in terms

of in terms of other policies of the party you'd record that in the past

they've been very aggressive as opposition as an opposition party.

Now that they in government, it will be interesting to see the

temperature, the tone, particularly because, you know, there's there's

there's a whole lot of a little power that sits in these DAD

employees to government.

And so and so, so do they do they actually, you know,

temperate, but or do they take advantage of this opportunity and use

it as leverage to sort of push their agenda in the ministries and in

the places of government that they do have control over.

So it'll be interesting to see that conference is in the middle of April.

But for now, I think that that we have to pay attention purely

because this is the, the second largest party in South Africa.

But more importantly, the second largest component of South Africa's

coalition government, the G&U.

So Jordan Hill Lewis looks set to take over as federal leader.

What does his leadership potentially signal for the DA's future and the

direction and the growth of the party?

So I think Jordan Hill Lewis comes with the advantage, more and

enough, of being a young dynamic, you know, sort of leader who has kind

of built his way up in the party.

As as as Kajan Mayor, he has something the John Stee and Hazen did

not have and that is like, like ability, right?

What he what he what he will struggle with in many raising this concern

is whether or not he has a national profile.

And that's important in the sense that when you're

campaigning for general elections, you need to have a level of of a national

profile in the way that someone like, for example, a Helen Zillow did.

And I think that, you know, the problem with John Stee and Hazen is that he

he struggled with like ability and to some degree, he also struggled with this

national profile, but he had somewhat of a national profile.

Nothing the nothing like Helen Zillow, who obviously is among the top five

most popular politicians in South Africa in terms of recognizability and

and and and and you know, people, people understanding who she is.

So so so it definitely seems that in the campaign to the municipal elections

in this later this year, you have you have Jordan Hill Lewis and his team

thinking about how does he then, you know, kind of break out from this this very

centralized through this very concentrated support in the Western Cape

and make that breakthrough across across the country and also to some

assert himself in the national conversation, which will be very very important,

which is something that he has not done for a very long time.

Oh, oh, oh, in his career. The other thing is that he's very young.

He is, he's what, 37, 38 years old. And so it has a level of excitement in terms of this

is a young boy. He also he also has what I say is the the subtle effect that they

and see benefited from our post having a leader.

Were you very personable? Were were you able to to to kind of

you know, be comfortable around your friends and enemies alike,

which is something John Stee and Hayes and struggled with for a very very long time.

And so I think that that he will leverage that to try to bolster support in communities that the

DA has not been able to find expression because, you know, the analysis of the 2024 election

was that with such a massive decline of the ANC, they will you did not see the DA benefit

electorally from that from that. So we know what is the party have to do. And so and then,

you know, to kind of go into those areas of, you know, middle class, you know, where the where

the DA where people have been living under the early governance in in in in in the western

Cape and try to convince poorer areas and and middle class areas that the DA is a good alternative.

And then also, how does the party navigate through sensitive conversations around around

transformation around black economic empowerment. But even on questions like like foreign policy

because because again, in municipal elections, it's you know, there's almost a sense that it's

not that deep, you know, I may not agree entirely with Helen Ziller's politics, you know,

that that sentiment that exists, but she she'll be better than, you know, the incumbent government

in terms of the fact that I, you know, will have water and electricity, whether that's true or not,

I'm saying that that sentiment can can persist. But when it comes to now national election,

which is, which is where, you know, the true test will be for Jordan Hill Lewis.

It will be about whether or not he's able to to to to to lead the party and propel the party through

all of these hindrances that have persisted for something like a decade.

Finally, Kanita, you know, beyond leadership races, what should South Africans be watching most

closely as this Congress takes place in terms of days, long-term trajectory?

Again, I think that it's it's it's really about the full complement of of of the leadership who

actually emerges and it seems to be that there's a certain cohort, you know, young, you know,

DA hardliners, you know, people who've been groomed by by Helen Ziller, who've been in the party

for a long time. You know, some of these people have never worked elsewhere. And so so it will be

interesting there. I don't I don't predict any massive changes in terms of the parties positioning

on on controversial issues like transformation or like foreign policy. In fact, I think they might

be a little bit of a doubling down. But but but you know, more importantly, I think that

the stability of the government of national unity has always been touted to be hinged on who

leads the political parties, especially the two biggest political parties in the coalition

agreement. So this year, the DA election leaders, next year, the ANC election leaders. And so whether or

not, you know, the the leadership collective, you know, sustains that government or six to a

minute in some way. And again, I don't think there's anything it's good or bad with the the

GNU survives or not in its current iteration. But it will be interesting to see the mood of

of of the of the of the Congress and and and what is the party going to do differently in trying

to attract votes come the municipal elections later this year.