Being There: Backstories From the Political Front

Tony Leon, longest serving leader of the opposition in democratic SA and acclaimed columnist and analyst, goes behind the scenes of what happened when history was being made in this country and around the world. His first-hand account from a front-row seat at critical moments provides frank and informed opinion. He ranges in this book: His ringside role in the formation of the recent Government of National Unity following the 2024 elections: A reappraisal - based on close encounters - of some of the giants who made modern South Africa and the wider world, including FW de Klerk, Nelson Mandela, Harry Oppenheimer Ariel Sharon, Yassir Arafat, Boris Johnson, and the leaders of Argentina: He writes of life in modern politics, from the purgatory of social media to the perils of fundraising in tough times and the leaderless world led often by mediocre or populist grifters, far removed from the statesmen and women these times demand. In Being There, Leon reflects, too, on the nostalgia we often feel, through pain and pride, of childhood, school and the many ‘what ifs’ which inform a well-lived and varied life on the frontlines of South Africa and its history-in-the-making. And how a wrong turn, or too few votes, can change the course of one life. Written with his customary blend of humour and flair and with an eye on the future and what the present and the past foretell about it, Leon’s new book is both important and highly readable.