POLITICS
STEVEN FRIEDMAN: Pay attention to the DA’s shortcomings
How democratic is the DA? The question is rarely, if ever, asked. Reporters and commentators obsess over every aspect of the ANC’s internal workings and its attitude to democracy, largely ignoring the DA. The reason is obvious. The ANC governs nationally and no one expects the DA to do this any time soon. But this gives the official opposition a free pass. The DA’s image of itself — as the party that takes democracy more seriously than its opponents and is in some senses its guardian — is rarely questioned simply because the people who shape opinion are looking the other way, towards the governing party. This is a problem for two reasons. First, the DA is hardly unimportant. It is the second-biggest party in SA and governs one province and half of the metropolitan areas. Second, last week’s DA congress suggests that it may not be quite as democratic as it claims to be.The main reason for wondering about the DA and democracy has been widely reported — the "De Lille resolution" — alth...
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