EDITORIAL: Realities force DA changes
The blending together of varied parts has made the DA more vulnerable to factionalism than most
The DA is now very much a part of the world of real politics where the exercise of state power and the access to public resources and jobs that it brings enter into and shape party dynamics and interfere with political principles. The DA is no stranger to factionalism. Like every political party it has always had factions and caucuses in which members club together to get their woman or man into a position of influence, with the prospect of getting ahead themselves at some point in the game. Just ask how young upstart Tony Leon in 1989 won candidacy of the prestigious Houghton seat after the retirement of Helen Suzman through a recruitment campaign of members and friends, none of whom lived in the area. The DA is also a party that is stranger than most. Unlike the ANC or the National Party, in which people came together around a strong, shared vision, the DA has a potted genealogy. While it has its roots in the Suzman-Leon white English-speaking liberal tradition, it is a party that...
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