‘Real’ analysis needed

YOUR front page lead, “One by one DA squeezing out the ID” (Cape Times, October 5), contains not a single shred of evidence to substantiate the statement in the banner headline.

The story does not point to a single instance of this alleged purge, or mention a single name, and after the first paragraph, nothing in the story even links back to the headline. Nor could it, since no example exists.

This is not news, it is just the soundbite opinion of another “analyst” who, to paraphrase Professor Robert Schrire (himself an analyst) seem to spend half their time predicting the future, and the other half of their time trying to explain why their predictions were so wrong.

No one in the DA can even remember who was once ID and who was not. Nor do we care. We work together as colleagues, support each other on merit, and disagree when we must. New members join the DA every day – from the ANC, from the PAC, from the UDM, and many more who have never been active members of any political party before.

We expect every new member to roll up their sleeves and help grow the party. And, in any case, if you insist on tracing the careers of ID converts in the DA, you will find them in leadership positions in every province and region and at every level of the party. They are provincial leaders and chairpersons, MPs, MPLs, councillors, mayors, mayoral committee members.

Real analysis requires more nuance than the worn-out easy narratives and soundbites. And real news requires facts and evidence. Geordin Hill-Lewis DA MP Edgemead