Robin Renwick, or Lord Renwick as he is now, a former British ambassador to South Africa who was very influential in determining UK policy toward this country during the Thatcher years, is also an author; and in Cape Town last night he launched a book he has written on Helen Suzman. Naturally, the event was very well attended by in particular members of the Democratic Alliance and its predecessor parties. Robin, with his publishers, decided that rather than he make the speech he would invite several other people to do so – all of whom obviously knew Helen Suzman. So we had an impressive line-up which included former Pres FW de Klerk, DA leader Helen Zille, Mamphela Ramphele, and Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Fortunately, they all kept an eye on their watches!

But obviously, an important point of interest was less the book than how Mamphela would fare within 48 hours of the Democratic Alliances’ announcement of her being the DA’s presidential candidate in the forthcoming election.

Mamphela Ramphele established Agang (meaning "to build" in Sesotho) after months of speculation in February last year. At the time lots of questions were asked of the kind: how would she fund it? And did she appreciate how difficult it is to establish a political party? What well-known persons would be joining her? And why go to all this trouble when Helen Zille was happy to stand aside for her to become leader of the DA?

Questions continued down the months, most from a negative or pessimistic angle – understandably because she has had little experience of party politics and is not a practical politician – something which is being reflected in voter surveys.

Against this background has the Democratic Alliance, as one prominent analyst bluntly put it committed a "major misjudgement "? I don't think so.

True, Mamphela is not a practical politician and is unlikely to get into the trenches or organise constituencies. Neither does she have Helen Zille's elegant turn of speech and exquisite political mind, beautifully combining the practical with the philosophical – and therefore making her the most talented politician in South Africa today. But Mamphela has something else – the fact is she is a captive of her past and her career. She is an intellectual with an enormous ability to articulate values and ambitions. She has demonstrated this in her contribution to public life over the past ten years or so. And her important role should not be compromised by “party politics”.

I see Ramphele in the context of Hannah Arendt’s Men in Dark Times, which was first published in 1968.  The title is less a description of situations than of the role of men and women in “dark times”.  Arendt writes:  “Dark times, in the broader sense I propose here are not such as to be identical with the monstrosities of this century (20th) which indeed are of a horrible novelty.”  [Obviously, she would be referring to the Holocaust of which she had first-hand knowledge.]  She goes on to say: “Dark times, in contrast are not only not new, they are no rarity in history.”

South Africa, in this context, is hardly in “dark times”.  But that we face very serious crises and a lack of vision, empowerment, a sense of direction and therefore of hope, is certain.  And so, as Arendt says: “Even in the darkest of times we have the right to expect some illumination, and that such illumination may come less from theories and concepts than from the uncertain, flickering and often weak light that some men and women, in their lives and works, will kindle under almost all circumstances and shed over the time span that is given them on earth – this conviction is the inarticulate background against which these profiles [the historical figures she discusses] were drawn.  Eyes so used to darkness as ours will hardly be able to tell whether their light was the light of a candle or that of a blazing sun.”   She wrote that in 1968 and it has a universal application.  And I’m saying that it applies in South Africa to certain rare people – among them Mamphela Ramphele.

Today's Financial Mail (31 January) describes Mamphela as "taking on Jacob Zuma". And this is exactly what she should do, Zuma must be her target – matching intelligence with intelligence, vision with vision, and specifically challenging him on the National Development Plan. She is completely capable intellectually of taking this plan and formulating it into something almost tangible, real and therefore inspiring to the job creators, the youth and foreign investors. Meanwhile, leave Helen free to give Cyril Ramaphosa sleepless nights!

Editorial Note:

The Democratic Alliances' appointment of Agang founder and leader Mamphela Ramphele as its presidential candidate in the forthcoming general election (likely to take place in late April or early March), and therefore guaranteeing her a Parliamentary seat, has sparked a fiery debate around the wisdom of the DA' action, while senior Agang members express their unhappiness at the fact that they were not consulted on the move. The two main issues in this debate, firstly, whether the move adds anything to the Democratic Alliances’ appeal to black voters; and the second is what the precise nature of the relationship between Agang and the DA will be: is the DA absorbing Agang, or is it an electoral pact? These are issues that will be resolved in the coming weeks. In response to enquiries received, in this Insight Dr Worrall offers his view of what should happen and in particular the role of the major players.

Stacey Farao, Managing Editor