Newsday: The man who created the DA and took the party from 338,000 to 2.9 million votes
https://newsday.co.za/south-africa/28858/the-man-who-created-the-da-and-took-the-party-from-338000-to-2-9-million-votes/
Triangulate or tergiversate: The only two moves left in the political playbook
From Bismarck to Blair, the art of political triangulation has delivered landslide victories – but as Cyril Ramaphosa’s hollow pivot on immigration shows, co-opting the politics of others is no substitute for the courage to change your own, writes Tony Leon. If you want to get current politics down to a T here and everywhere, just [...]
Geordin’s gambit: Why aiming high beats treading water at 20%
New DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis inherits a 25-year-old question from former French PM Lionel Jospin about whether his party can evolve from opposition to a genuine governing alternative – and he’s betting everything on a resounding “yes” for 2029, writes Tony Leon. Last month, France’s former socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin died aged 88. His death [...]
It’s Topical | Is Geordin Hill-Lewis the right person to lead the DA?
Geordin Hill-Lewis served as Chief of Staff to former DA leaders Helen Zille and Mmusi Maimane. He was the youngest Member of Parliament when elected in 2011, at the age of 24. Now 39, he takes over the reins from John Steenhuisen as the new leader of the Democratic Alliance. The question now is: what [...]
From opposition to coalition: Can the DA survive its govt partnership? GalleryFrom opposition to coalition: Can the DA survive its govt partnership?
African National Congress (ANC), Corruption, Cyril Ramaphosa, Democratic Alliance, EFF, Elections, GNU, Helen Zille, Jacob Zuma, John Steenhuisen, South African Politics
From opposition to coalition: Can the DA survive its govt partnership?
Former DA leader Tony Leon argues the party faces an existential identity crisis as it navigates between its historic role as effective opposition and its current position as part of the GNU, with its upcoming congress serving as a crucial moment to determine whether the party has been “muzzled” by the ANC or can leverage its [...]
Welcome to a ruleless world of 2026: Silence in Caracas, hypocrisy in Pretoria GalleryWelcome to a ruleless world of 2026: Silence in Caracas, hypocrisy in Pretoria
African National Congress (ANC), Cyril Ramaphosa, Donald Trump, EFF, International Politics, Iran, Iraq, Maduro, Pretoria, Russian War, Trump, Ukraine, Venezuela, World Politics
Welcome to a ruleless world of 2026: Silence in Caracas, hypocrisy in Pretoria
With the rules-based order in retreat, Tony Leon argues SA’s hard-won impeccable moral authority has been squandered once too often. Just as well, given the extraordinary, arguably extra-legal, events over the weekend in Caracas, that South Africa’s ambassador to Venezuela, Lindiwe Maeko, maintained a judicious silence (thus far). Had her predecessor, Ambassador Joseph Nkosi (now in Chad), [...]
In conversation with Tony Leon
Join George Herald journalist Marguerite van Ginkel as she sits down with Tony Leon. Watch the full interview for a candid conversation filled with history, wisdom, and practical insights from one of South Africa’s most experienced political voices. https://youtu.be/nM6G6uhg8Dw
End of ‘natural’ governments: Once dominant parties in UK and SA face electoral extinction GalleryEnd of ‘natural’ governments: Once dominant parties in UK and SA face electoral extinction
African National Congress (ANC), British politics, Cyril Ramaphosa, EFF, International Politics, Margaret Thatcher, MK, South African Politics, UK Politics
End of ‘natural’ governments: Once dominant parties in UK and SA face electoral extinction
As the UK’s Conservative Party faces potential extinction after 200 years of dominance and South Africa’s ANC struggles with similar decline, Tony Leon argues that the era of “natural parties of government” is over, replaced by voter disillusionment that demands the kind of decisive, conviction-based leadership exemplified by Margaret Thatcher rather than today’s consensus-seeking politicians. Today, here [...]
The Lead: Tony Leon on the state of the GNU, the DA, and brown envelopes
https://www.news24.com/multimedia/podcasts/podcast-the-lead-tony-leon-on-the-state-of-the-gnu-the-da-and-brown-envelopes-20250806-1023
Missing ambassadors, mounting tariffs: SA leaders fail the perfect storm test GalleryMissing ambassadors, mounting tariffs: SA leaders fail the perfect storm test
African National Congress (ANC), Cabinet, Corruption, Cyril Ramaphosa, Democratic Alliance, EFF, Elections, GNU, Jacob Zuma, John Steenhuisen, Parliament, South African Politics
Missing ambassadors, mounting tariffs: SA leaders fail the perfect storm test
It is a case of every man, woman or party for themselves, and the country buckles in the absence of joined-up government, writes Tony Leon. In Zbig, a new and fascinating biography of the late hardline US National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Edward Luce writes, “figures in senior [government] roles have no time to replenish their stock [...]