Many who watched it, have failed to appreciate what exactly happened in the Democratic Alliance this year. The party underwent a fundamental shift, a changing of the baton as a new guard took over. For years the DA has prided itself on its ability to cultivate and develop young talent. Not for kicks, but for leadership roles later. This year the fruits of that work can finally be seen.
It’s important to understand that the new leadership in the DA didn’t join the party yesterday. Their journeys began over 15 – 20 years ago. And through careful cultivation and progression they have now taken over the party. Geordin-Hill Lewis (Leader), Ashor Sarupen (Federal Council Chair and Deputy Minister), Solly Msimanga (Federal chairperson), Matthew Cuthbert (CEO), Siviwe Garube (Deputy Fed and Minister), Cilliers Brink (Deputy Fed), Solly Malatsi (Deputy Fed and Minister), this crop started their political adventure way back in the late 2000s.
Youth alone is not something that means much in politics. But when it is combined with 15-20 years of political experience it becomes formidable. Every one of the individuals above is in their mid-30s except for Msimanga who is in his early 40s.
All of them are also graduates of the DA Young Leaders programme an initiative that the party introduced 20 years ago which has produced a pipeline talent who are leading in various levels of the organisation, occupy public office or are supporting DA administrations in government.
The Young Leaders programme is the gold standard in political development with a highly competitive process. The DA has multiple screening and interview processes in selection to choose candidates who have a complete package of activism, leadership, communication, strategy and political skills. Such is the programme’s impact that there are donors to the party who insist that their donations are assigned to its continuation.
Visit the DA’s Federal Head office, the average staffer age is 30. The current leadership are already preparing the crop that will take over the party. There is a relentless leadership and professional development culture that permeates throughout the organisation.
Speak to staff now and they will tell you that all applications for leave are no longer processed now until after the election. That’s standard practise during election cycles. That’s how serious the DA takes these periods. Everybody gets locked in. The DA runs an election campaign like how Formula 1 teams go racing. Every single thing that that can be measured, is, and every data point is captured and quantified.
In F1 racing the teams strategise about shaving off a second or even tenths of a second to go faster. The DA does the same with votes. Continuous polling, canvassing, forecasting and profiling of voters. The DA knows more about what motivates ANC voters than the ANC, along with other political parties. It can structure specific messages for specific communities and trace exactly what issues resonate where. All to capture another percentage point of the vote, sometimes even half a percent.
Compare this to the leadership and organisation of any other party in the country. Ask yourself, who takes over next? There are no parties that exist outside the DA with succession plans that started 20 years ago. The majority of the current crop of politicians come from the same generation and they battle among themselves within their own parties. Worse still, many do not have any prospects outside of politics, and so they will hold onto positions for as long as possible to the detrimental of the organisation they represent. Without even a thought of succession.
Nothing is more indicative of this expertise then how the DA has managed its candidate selection and list process for the local government election. It has been concluded with clinical efficiency. The recruitment process started over a year ago. Online submissions, screening, tests, more tests and then multiple interviews. Across every municipality in every province. The party’s key mayoral candidates launched months in advance with fully staffed campaign teams. All posters and pamphlets are already printed, in storage and ready to roll out in phases as the election draws near.
Elsewhere, what do you see from major parties. Chaos. No mayoral candidates, failing strategy, candidate lists a complete mess. Parties too scared to release lists for fear of defections. Continuous internal factionalism.
The DA’s new leadership are just getting started, the election this year will be a test. But if you compare the DA’s clinical approach to everything it does to every other party in the country, you see an organization operating around the highest levels of operational efficiency.
[Image: DA Rally]
The views of the writer are not necessarily the views of the Daily Friend or the IRR.
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