Taking the next step in the realignment of politics
This weekend, the Independent Democrats are holding a special conference to which they have invited leaders of various opposition parties. It will be a privilege to attend.
It could turn out to be a significant event in the realignment of South African politics, a turning point in the development of our democracy.
The ID will be seeking support from party delegates to amend their constitution so that they can take the next steps in building a strong, value-based alternative to the ANC. This process has been underway for four years, ever since the ANC lost the election in the City of Cape Town, and other municipalities, on 1 March 2006.
That event will go down as a watershed in SA history because it was the first time the ANC was removed from power by voters exercising their power through the ballot box. In most of the municipalities where the ANC received less than 50% of the votes, opposition parties recognized what the voters' mandate was. The voters had chosen to oust the ANC and they wanted opposition parties to stand together to do this, irrespective of the differences between them. And that was the start of coalition politics in the new South Africa.
Most transitions from authoritarian rule to democracy on our continent failed because voters did not use their power to hold their rulers to account. The voters allowed a single dominant party to become drunk with power, to abuse power, and to form a corrupt kleptocracy masquerading as a liberation government. In a democracy, voters get the government they deserve. When citizens in these countries eventually woke up to the fact that they had the power, and the responsibility, to change their government, it was often too late, because by then power abuse had destroyed any prospect of holding a free and fair election.
In a transition to democracy, the sooner voters exercise their responsibility to remove a power-abusing government from office, the better the country's prospects of success. When this happens, politicians start to fear the voters, as they should in a democracy, rather than the other way around - as it is in authoritarian states.
Just one decade after the first democratic local government elections in 1996, the voters of Cape Town and other municipalities took this momentous step. The 7 opposition parties that came together to form a new coalition government in the City could hardly have been a more disparate group. The DA brought by far the largest share (91 councilors out of the required 106 to reach a majority). The remainder was made up by the African Christian Democratic Party, the Africa Muslim Party, the United Democratic Movement, the Universal Party, the Freedom Front + and the United Independent Front.
The ANC did not like the prospect of being in opposition and tried every strategy possible to destabilize and remove the new coalition. This had the unintended consequence of cementing it even more.
At first the ID was not part of the coalition, as a majority of its councillors had preferred to side with the ANC. This proved to be a politically costly decision, and the ID was punished by its voters. During the months that followed, I began to have regular meetings with Patricia de Lille, the ID leader. We developed a sound mutual understanding and respect. Within a year, it proved possible to reconstitute the Cape Town coalition to include the Independent Democrats.
Coalition governments are very difficult to manage. Although the Cape Town coalition and some others worked reasonably well, others were disastrous. The result was instability, internal conflict and, in some cases, stalled service delivery.
It was clear that we had to take the next step in the process of building a strong, unified alternative to the ANC. If voters were beginning to take their responsibilities seriously, we had to create an alternative that could be taken seriously.
The next opportunity to do so was the 2009 provincial and national elections. By this time, through our regular meetings, I had become convinced that Patricia and I had far more in common than the issues that divided us. I believed our political philosophy was compatible: we both believed in the open society, we shared an analysis of the role of the state, and we agreed that it was a priority to defend the constitution. I started to believe that the ID and the DA could move beyond coalition politics.
In a coalition, the parties remain entirely separate, but form a joint government. It is easy to dissolve a coalition, and thus it is easy to constitute a coalition with disparate parties that have a common set of core interests.
A merger is an entirely different matter. We have learnt through bitter experience that a merger depends on the partners having a common set of values that they know how to translate into practice. Forming an alliance, through merger, is far more difficult than establishing a coalition. Both the risks and the benefits are potentially greater.
Thus it was that early in 2008, I approached Patricia and asked her to consider a proposal: If our parties could merge, behind a common manifesto, and go into the 2009 general election together she would be the Premier candidate for the Western Cape where, as a combined force, we would be almost certain to win. Through winning a Province we could take the consolidation of our democracy one step further.
It was still too early and this step was not to be. Fortunately, we were able to win without it.
But with the 2009 election behind us, we are now ready to take the next step in preparation for the 2011 local elections.
That is the background and context that will shape the ID's conference on Saturday. It is an important event. It should take us one step closer to ensuring the success of South Africa's democratic project.
The ID faces a unique opportunity. And I'm sure they know it.
This article by Helen Zille first appeared in SA Today, the weekly online newsletter of the leader of the Democratic Alliance, March 19 2010
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