Congress in the DA heartland: Anatomy of a changing political landscape

The just under 1,000 delegates who attended the Democratic Alliance’s Western Cape Provincial Congress to elect a new leadership for the region at the weekend were met with scenes reminiscent of a revival meeting outside the His People church complex in Goodwood.

The selection of the venue no doubt had more to do with affordability, capacity and its facilities rather than a tacit alignment with the conservative and anti-gay His People churches. Nonetheless an evangelical atmosphere prevailed, albeit that of a political nature.

Photo: There were many creative outfits at the DA Western Cape Federal Congress

Delegates – dressed in obligatory DA Blue – poured in from across the province to register and were met at the entrance by an energetic marimba band as well as an ardent battalion of Lennit Max supporters preoccupied with a last-ditch spasm of campaigning for their candidate – current Western Cape Spokesperson for Transport and Public Works – who was challenging Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille for the position of leader.

From a table positioned near the entrance, they handed out pamphlets and peeled off stickers bearing Max’s smiling face, and affixed them to anyone and everyone passing by. Max’s mug was literally everywhere, including in the dirt bin of the ladies’ toilets, where those who had been unwittingly used as a mobile advertising space had discarded them in private.

Photo: A poster of defeated Lennit Max (Marianne Thamm)

Max’s supporters should have read the signs earlier. So confident was the De Lille camp that she would be voted in by a hefty majority that there was no visible campaign apart from a few low-key t-shirts and stickers. De Lille has spent the past few weeks covering thousands of kilometers canvassing support in the province and was clearly certain she had it in the bag. Just after 9am De Lille, dressed in a blue slack suit with leatherette trim, slipped largely unnoticed into the packed venue.

“Excuse me, may I sit here?” she inquired as she approached the three open rows of seats to the left and at the front of the venue reserved for the media. She had clearly not thought to assume that the open front row of seats across the way for DA VIPs were reserved for her. It was a telling moment, perhaps, of a veteran politician, secure in the knowledge that she’d done the slog work required. Max, on the other hand, wearing a liquid shimmering grey suit, strutted about the venue, waving at the odd supporter.

There was much anticipation as Mmusi Maimane, who had just announced his candidacy for leader of the party, was due to speak at 10am. The party’s new heir apparent had flown in especially to address the DA where it governs its showcase province. This was to be the first platform where he would officially launch his bid.

(The only other possible contender, DA Federal Chairperson and Shadow Minister of Health, Wilmot James – who has indicated that he is thinking of running – was called away unexpectedly after the death of his mother on Saturday morning.)

Maimane bounded onto the stage dressed in a DA t-shirt and black blazer to the Mafikizolo hit “Khona” before energetically leading the delegates in a few “Amandlas”, as well as a song excoriating President’s Zuma and the ANC’s corruption.

The mark of a seasoned, experienced and intuitive leader is her or his ability to read a crowd and what may be required of the moment. While a prepared speech might serve as a crutch, it is a leader who knows his or her own mind who can deviate from this to speak to the “mood” or the heart of an occasion. And it was while delivering his speech to the delegates at this provincial congress – people who Maimane will, as some point, require to support him in his leadership bid – that Maimane revealed just how green he still is.

A short diversion.

Before the 2011 local elections, Helen Zille addressed a gathering of serious DA funders in the Eastern Cape. These are the people whom the party relies on to keep it afloat. It was a formal evening in a five-star hotel but Zille arrived in a traditional Xhosa dress. For the first ten minutes she spoke Xhosa to the mostly white crowd who began looking around nonplussed. When someone from the audience made an inappropriate remark about the creation of a “new political idiom” – that of struggle songs and toyi-toying – Zille called him to account. She used the moment to prepare these funders for the moment the DA has now reached. She told them that in a few years a black leader would be standing where she now stood and that they should and must support him or her. This leader, she reminded them, would embody and represent the values of the Democratic Alliance. It was vintage Zille; she knew the psychology of the crowd and what was required to get them to buy into her vision for the party. That she managed to convince them was evidenced in the cheques written and pledges made that night.

Saturday’s gathering in Cape Town was an opportunity for Maimane to begin to set the scene for his style and tone of leadership. It was an opportunity to speak sincerely, from the heart, to make a connection with DA delegates, committed members of the party. A moment for him to set out his vision, in his own words, enabling those who might not know him, to see and hear and to witness what he is made of. To provide some sense of the man behind the now growing myth, the man behind the Obamaesque images of his mayoral campaign in Gauteng. The DA is less of a collective than the ANC and the strength of personality of a leader (as well as other traits of course) has always been a key feature of his or her success.

Photo: Mmusi Maimane addresses the media after launching his leadership bid for the DA in Cape Town at the weekend. (Picture Marianne Thamm).

Instead Maimane delivered an address that in pitch and content was far more suited to Parliament, where he has made his mark – particularly with his “broken man” speech earlier this year. It was a speech that felt, and sounded, rehearsed, rote and disconnected.

He began by flattering the province, saying how pretty it was and how much he had come to love it since spending time here as leader of the opposition in Parliament.

“From the great natural beauty of the province, to the hardworking and friendly spirit of its people, the Western Cape never ceases to amaze me,” he said.

Really!

Of course he thanked all of the delegates for their hand in the success of the DA in the Western Cape and how it had “set the standard for provincial governments across South Africa”.

Um, yes. This is not a unique revelation or observation in a milieu brimming with amplified consensus and mutual-back slapping. Maimane then went on to log the DA’s successes… “Just 10 years ago… blah blah… 27 percent of the votes… dedication… overwhelming… just short of 60 percent last year.”

The success, of course, he said, was a testament to the leadership of Helen Zille to whom he paid tribute.

“Over the past eight years, Helen has led the DA with selflessness and devotion, setting an example for all politicians in South Africa that leadership should always be about the needs of the people, and never about personal gain. The legacy that Helen will leave for the DA is overwhelmingly positive.”

Not exactly Obama poetry.

The rest of the speech was filled with predictable platitudes and crowing, a check-list of rote successes everyone in that particular audience already knew – “unemployment under 10 percent”, “76 percent of budget dedicated to service delivery in poor communities”, “99.1 percent of households in the Western Cape have access to piped water, 93.4 percent access to electricity…zzzzzzz.”

Perhaps one should not be as unforgiving, as Maimane was thrown in at the deep end as leader of the opposition in Parliament, and has developed a particular tone in that realm. And perhaps it is too early for him to set out – in a voice that sounds uniquely and sincerely his own – how he views the future of the Democratic Alliance. But right now this writer is not sure if he even has his own voice.

Saturday’s performance was a lost opportunity, but the delegates cheered him nonetheless, and later in the day, the newly-elected provincial leadership all indicated that they would firmly support his bid for leader.

And so it came to pass that Cape Town Mayor, Patricia de Lille, was later installed as the new leader of the Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape with an overwhelming 69 percent of the vote to Max’s 31 percent. She succeeds the low-key and hard-working Ivan Meyer, current MEC of Finance, who grew the party’s support to just below 60 percent in the most recent election.

While the DA is clearly firmly entrenched in the Western Cape, De Lille will most certainly consolidate the party’s dominance, as she is a well-known and veteran politician. She will be the face of the party in the lead-up to the 2016 local elections while continuing to serve as Mayor.

Leading the party will be a time-consuming exercise, with its over 300 branches and impressive machinery in the province. But De Lille is a seasoned politician and has indicated she will return to the party’s successful door-to-door campaigning.

Her deputy is former ANC and then later UDM member and current MEC for Human Settlements, Bonginkosi Madikizela. Madikizela challenged and beat current incumbent, the seasoned Theuns Botha (part of what is known as the Old Boys’ Club). On Sunday, Botha, currently MEC for Cultural Affairs and Sport and Leader of Government Business in the Western Cape Cabinet, later announced his resignation “with immediate effect”, saying he would now be concentrating on his business interests and farming.

The new DA leadership will put considerable pressure on the ailing and failing ANC in the Western Cape. De Lille and Madikizela will make a formidable team that reflects the province’s demographics, while appealing still to the region’s middle-class and wealthy, white constituency, particularly in the metro, where De Lille has served well as mayor. And to say nothing of a more focused and dedicated Premier, Helen Zille, who will have created more space since stepping down from the demanding role as leader of the DA. DM

Main photo: A delegate at the party’s provincial congress congratulates New DA Western Cape Leader, Patricia de Lille at the weekend. (Picture Marianne Thamm)