The revelation of cleric Reverend Mvume Dandala as the Congress of the People’s (Cope’s) presidential candidate makes one wonder about Cope’s leadership intentions. Most of the groundwork in Cope was, after all, done by Terror Lekota and Mbhazima Shilowa.

After the formation of Cope, ANC members cried foul about how Cope was a party run by disgruntled members of the ANC who were out of favour with the new Zuma administration. This was a way for them to retain power. This weighed heavily on the minds of potential Cope supporters and ANC defectors.

The selection of Mvume Dandala who has no political baggage would be the wise choice in countering these assertions.

Marketers and brand professionals always emphasise differentiation when appealing to the hearts and minds of consumers. They don’t come as differentiated as Dandala. As a cleric, he seems the complete opposite of ANC president Jacob Zuma, who still has a corruption charge hanging over his head.

But the ANC has also proved to be PR savvy, getting Nelson Mandela to endorse its election campaign last week. And, more astutely, the party managed to get ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema to pose with school kids to repair the damage from his gaffe regarding education minister Naledi Pandor.

Both the Sowetan and The Star covered the story, running pictures of Malema with school kids calling him “Uncle Malema”.

All we can do now is anticipate the next surprise from political parties in this exciting election year.