Steenhuisen blows DA succession race wide open

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen’s sudden decision not to stand for the party’s leadership at its next conference has thrown the succession race in the official opposition wide open, with Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis throwing his hat in the ring. This week, Steenhuisen told theMail & Guardianin an exclusive interview that while he is leaving behind a party in a healthier condition than he found it in 2019, he has no preferred successor, blowing open the battle to succeed him. Siviwe Gwarube and Hill-Lewis, both viewed as Steenhuisen allies, are among the frontrunners being tipped to take over the party’s leadership.

Two weeks ago, Gwarube toldM&Gthat she had no interest in being DA leader but would be seeking a role in the party’s top organisational structure, without specifying which role. “There’s no truth to claims that I am seeking to be federal leader. What I did indicate is that I am in the running for one of the leadership positions in the organisation but I was emphatic that I am not running for DA leader.

I will announce it as soon as the nomination process opens,” Gwarube said. Meanwhile, in a leaked message to his caucus in Cape Town — which theM&Ghas seen — Hill-Lewis said whatever he decided to do, if he did stand as leader, he intended to remain mayor and “seek re-election shoulder to shoulder with all of you”. Internal DA sources toldM&Gthat Steenhuisen was pushed out of the party by those they described as rightwingers over how he handled the foot-and-mouth outbreak, while others said they were concerned about how he had bent over backwards for ANC policies, including the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act and the Expropriation Act.

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Some insiders toldM&Gthat Steenhuisen had been pushed out by a faction aligned to federal chair Helen Zille — a faction whose existence Zille has denied. Some in the party believe Steenhuisen’s withdrawal from the leadership race marks the beginning of a major divide between two factions within the DA. Further fuelling speculation about divisions, Steenhuisen was flanked by those viewed to be his allies, including Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson and Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber, during his media briefing in his hometown of Durban, when he announced that he would not be standing for the leadership position.

Those viewed to be in Zille’s camp were nowhere to be seen at the briefing nor was his speech shared on the DA’s official communication channels, including the WhatsApp group. When Steenhuisen took over the party in 2019 as interim leader from Mmusi Maimane, the party was polling at 16% nationally.

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