democratic alliancelatest news & developments

TIM COHEN: The ANC needs a tourniquet. The DA needs a ladder

A stable centrist coalition between the ANC and the DA may be the only path forward

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PODCAST: ‘Sharp Sharp’ — The curious case of the ANC’s missing mayors

Rob and Zuks pick apart the ANC’s election manifesto

Kastelos in the sand: The DA’s Burke dilemma

Inside the party’s Burke bind

Real Politics: Burke tests DA’s clean-government claim

The DA cannot afford to blur the lines between it and the ANC

DA leader Geordin Hill‑Lewis with Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal household (Supplied by Scrolla.Africa/Democratic Alliance)

Real Politics: as new DA leader, Hill-Lewis faces an old dilemma

Geordin Hill-Lewis leads the DA at a pivotal moment. Can he turn anti-ANC anger into DA votes where his predecessors couldn’t?

Democratic Alliance (DA) Party member Geordin Hill-Lewis greets the delegates after being elected the new Federal Leader during the second day of the Federal Congress 2026 on April 12, 2026 at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, South Africa. About 2,000 delegates gathered for the 2-day conference where the party will elect a new party leader and other leaders, leading up to the municipal elections later this year. (Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)

The centre is holding as the DA offers up a new generation

While the rest of the world has been riven by populism and the rise of extremists, South Africa has embraced the political centre

Geordin Hill-Lewis. Gallo Images/Frennie Shivambu

Real Politics: Hill-Lewis is new. The DA’s problem isn’t

New DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has refreshed the party’s image – but not its politics. That gap may cost it the voters it needs most

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PODCAST: Can the DA be South Africa’s largest party?

New leader Geordin Hill-Lewis wants the DA to become the country’s largest party. Is that possible? Really?

Geordin Hill-Lewis elected as the new leader of the Democratic Alliance during The Congress at the Gallagher Convention Centre on 12 April, 2026. Photo by Gallo Images/Fani Mahuntsi)

The DA just got much younger. The ANC should worry

The DA’s new leadership is younger, more diverse and openly ambitious. The party could be one to watch as it pivots towards pragmatism

Ashor Sarupen. Supplied

490,000 voters to win Joburg? Inside Sarupen’s grand plans

Ashor Sarupen says the DA has to lay the groundwork for its 2029 national ambitions by winning big in this year’s local government elections

South African politics in 2026. Rawpixel/Currency collage

Local polls, the GNU and Trump shocks: politics in 2026

Local government elections, a DA electoral conference, the all-important annual budget and global headwinds. Here’s your political year ahead