The year 2023 saw seismic shifts in South Africa's political discourse.

The state of the African National Congress (ANC) is perilous, to say the least, and it's facing a major onslaught from opposition parties who have been chipping away at its core support.

Cadre deployment, loadshedding and State corruption are some of the ANC's major challenges, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) the loudest voice in making this known to the country.

The DA held an elective conference early in the year, where incumbent leader John Steenhuisen solidified his support.

It was at the same conference during which the idea of a unified opposition emerged. Known first as the moonshot pact, it evolved into what is now known as the Multi-Party Charter (MPC).

Political analysts, however, believe the DA is still hamstrung by its own internal challenges.

The DA's coalitions at local government have been somewhat of a damp squib - and, while it governs the City of Cape Town with a majority, it was unsuccessful in Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Ekurhuleni.

The only success it attained was the coalition agreement in the City of Tshwane.

Political analyst Mpumelelo Mkhabela said the DA's internal elections were a success, but not without drama.

"The person who contested John Steenhuisen subsequently left the position as councillor of Johannesburg. She is now no longer active in party activities. One can claim the ramifications of that contestation led to Mpho [Phalatse] being out in the cold. The fact that, soon after that congress, she left, and there was no post-conference reconciliation after a brutal battle," he said.

They eventually managed to form a stable coalition in Pretoria. They managed to work together with other parties. They learned an important lesson: to humble themselves and work with other parties. Under [Tshwane Mayor] Cilliers Brink, there is some stability there.

"In Ekurhuleni, it had to succumb to the ANC and Economic Freedom Fighters coalition - similarly, in the City of Joburg. The DA failed in Joburg because they could not accommodate the Patriotic Alliance (PA). That is the consequence of the fact that the PA has proven to be a problem for the DA, even in the Western Cape.

"The DA finds itself uncomfortable to go into a coalition with a party that is threatening it in other parts of the country. I think the DA disappointed its coalition partners, like ActionSA, primarily because it can't have the PA in the same coalition."

Also, in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro, there were setbacks.

"They have succeeded in holding one coalition and have failed in three others," Mkhabela said.

Steenhuisen said that, when he came into the leadership role, he inherited a party that was 12% at the polls.

"The leader had just walked off the job and trotted all over the party as he walked out the door. It was met with headlines from, ironically, News24, which famously said it was the death of the DA. Well, here we are in 2023, on the cusp of an election where the DA is up in the polls.

"Nobody talks about the next government in South Africa without talking about the DA. That is not bad for a party that was destroyed and written off as dead," he said.

According to Steenhuisen, the DA will be the second-largest party in the country.

"We will be, as we currently sit just 7% away from the ANC, with the opportunity that, if things go right, we will overtake them. Where we govern, we have been able to deliver for South Africans. We have not spoken about creating jobs and pushing more people into the unemployment line. What we do, backs up our offer to South Africans. You [are] going to need a strong DA to rescue South Africa," he said.

Political analyst Daniel Silke said the DA still found it very difficult to break from its traditional support base.

"It has made some progress in communities in South Africa - but, numerically, they do not seem to have built on its percentage of the broader vote in South Africa. On their own, the party is rather stagnant in its popular support. They have done relatively well in Parliament, I think they have put the ANC in its place," he said.

"It's the same challenge the DA has always had. It can't take its policy on paper and turn it into a tangible benefit to the electorate and explain to the electorate that they will be better off under a DA government.

"It's not good enough just to point to the relative successes in the Western Cape. Voters across the country are looking for tangible ways of improving their lives, and the DA has not been able to explain that adequately."

Asked about the MPC, Silke said it was the way forward for the DA.

"It will enable the DA to become a key part of a new formation in conjunction with other parties. What the DA cannot achieve on its own, in terms of organic growth, it can achieve through the Multi-Party Charter and push it a little closer to the ANC. The charter needs a lot more. It needs more than the DA and the six or seven other parties in it.

"It needs perhaps a new leader or a front face. Their biggest challenge will be to find a face or name… a good candidate that can be an alternative presidential candidate to face Cyril Ramaphosa," he said.

Wits-based political commentator Professor Susan Booysen said that, on the parliamentary front, the DA managed to consistently highlight many of the contentious issues in politics.

"They have made meaningful contributions to highlight the many sufferings of the government. The extent to which they have positioned themselves as bringing a better alternative. They have a largely loyal constituency. The big remaining task is to show that they can expand that loyal base and enter into new territory. I think it is a combination of very good results and some serious aspects that remain to be proven by the DA," she said.

"The ANC still sits with a pretty big majority, and they are very fortunate because that majority is still carrying them. It can vote down many alternatives and motions. It will be very interesting to see how that will change come the next election. The DA cannot achieve many of the things it wants to achieve because of this," she said.