On 24 June the Democratic Alliance marks another birthday. It is a moment to look back with pride, and to look forward with purpose.
The DA is the child of the South African liberal tradition, which has often been a fragile flower planted in stony soil in this country.
Our story began with a small band of just 11 people who were prepared to stand apart when standing apart came at a cost.
Watch: Celebrating 26 Years of the Democratic Alliance
In 1959, the Progressive Party was formed because South Africa needed a clear, principled opposition to apartheid. The new party immediately announced that it wanted no racial discrimination and equal opportunities for all. That seems obvious and inevitable now, but in the political climate of the time, this was a very bold and even radical declaration.
In 1961, Helen Suzman became the fledgling party’s only Member of Parliament. For thirteen years she stood alone in Parliament, speaking for the rights, dignity and freedom of millions who had been deliberately silenced.
That is part of the DA’s inheritance: courage under pressure, principle when it is unpopular, and faith in a South Africa bigger than the politics of race, fear and division.
The political tradition that eventually became the DA fought for constitutional democracy, an independent judiciary, a Bill of Rights, federalism, non-racialism and an open economy, long before these ideas became the foundation of our democratic order.
Later, as the Democratic Party, it helped negotiate the constitutional settlement that still protects every South African today. And from 2000, as the Democratic Alliance, it set out to build a democratic alternative able to oppose what is wrong and to prove what is possible.
The journey has been far from easy. In 1994 the party was crushed between the ANC and the National Party, winning just 1,7% of the vote. Under the leadership of Tony Leon, we began the back-breaking slog back up from the bottom. There have been many victories and some setbacks since then.
We have grown into a party of national presence, able to win millions of votes, of an exceptional governance record, and have now entered the portals of national coalition government power. We are by far the most diverse of all the parties, a party that can win seats in every demographic community in the country – and we are very proud of that.
Our predecessors were often fighting lonely battles against great odds, with little public support and no media support. But they were right. What they said was true. And they never gave up. Together those are powerful things indeed. Today, none could deny that their cause was just.
Through it all, our historic mission has always remained the same, and we have tried to always pursue “the long obedience” towards the attainment of that better society.
As I look back, I can only feel great pride that we are the current inheritors and custodians of this historic mission.
As the new Leader of the DA I feel deep gratitude to all those who have worked to build this party to what it is today – not just the party’s previous leaders, but all those who have worked so hard, even in the humblest of ways, to make that possible. Indeed, I cannot but be conscious of both the honour and the responsibility that comes with following from such distinguished forbears.
Now we stand on the brink of a new era, one in which the DA will strive to take the final step to become the largest party in South Africa, which will then be able to lead governing coalitions.
We can only afford to set ourselves such ambitious targets only because of the immense efforts of the great South Africans who went before us.
Becoming the largest party will be as hard a task as we have ever undertaken.
But it is by no means the only hard task we’ve ever accomplished. Just as our predecessors did it, so I know that we can do it. I have confidence in you, and in our collective determination.
It will only happen if we show what we can do practically to make South Africa a better-governed country for all – with greater economic growth, much less unemployment, no tolerance for corruption, and with cities that work.
South Africans do not want a politics that merely describes decline. They want leadership that can reverse it.
The DA has set the governing standard in South Africa. No other party has done more to prove that government can be clean, financially responsible, and focused on measurable progress.
Today, our country needs that DA tradition more than ever.
The DA will always remain a party of principle, committed to the Constitution, non-racialism, the rule of law, a growing economy, higher standards in public services, and a safety net for those who need it most.
And we will also be a party of delivery for all. We will listen before we speak. We will go to communities where trust still has to be earned. We will govern well where we already have the privilege to govern, and we will bring good government to many more places.
Our mission to build a DA that can lead South Africa.
A DA that is approachable, because politics must start with people.
Optimistic, because no problem in South Africa is too big to solve with the right ideas and hard work.
Proudly South African, because we love this country and refuse to give up on it.
And for everyone, because South Africa will only succeed when every South African can share in its promise.
On the DA’s birthday, we honour those who built this party: those who stood alone, those who fought for democracy, those who governed well, and those who kept believing when hope was hard to find.
Now it is our responsibility.
South Africa can work — for everyone.
And together, we are proving it.
Warm regards,
Geordin Hill-Lewis
Leader of the Democratic Alliance