DA’s action against me a sham — Zille
Former DA leader Helen Zille says she has done nothing wrong and has described the party’s disciplinary process against her as a “sham”.
This is the essence the argument Zille made in submissions on why she should not be suspended, according to sources privy to her argument.
The furore is due to her tweets on colonialism and subsequent comments, based on her trip to Singapore earlier in 2017.
Zille goes further, launching an attack against DA leader Mmusi Maimane, suggesting his alleged failure to comply with process has prejudiced her.
The submission is set to be discussed during a teleconference of the DA’s top leadership on Wednesday morning.
In an e-mailed response to Business Day, Zille would not divulge the contents of her submission, saying “the document is now with [the] federal executive and [was] their property. I cannot leak from fedex.”
DA federal executive chairman James Selfe confirmed on Wednesday that Zille had met the Tuesday deadline to provide representations on why she should not be suspended.
Former leader Tony Leon also weighed in on Tuesday with a call for Zille to step down from her post as premier of the Western Cape.
Zille holds the most senior government position in the DA, but does not hold a formal position in the party.
Zille said she could speculate on the motives behind the hardline stance against her, but that this “would not help the situation”. Responding to calls by Leon for her to step aside, she said it was clear that there had been “co-ordination” behind the scenes in the calls for her to go.
“If one joins the dots, and links all of those popping up out of the woodwork, it is clear that there has been some coordination behind the scenes.”
The bitter battle is broader than a disagreement over the offensive tweets and also relates to the future direction of the party. The differences over the trajectory of the DA include the party entering into co-operation agreements with the EFF to govern Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay, according to insiders.
Zille said that she agreed with the political realignment announced by Maimane in May and had argued for it — and had, in some cases, facilitated it. “The most important objective must
be governing well if one wins an election”.
Internal polling has shown that the former DA leader’s tweets on colonialism has damaged the party brand ahead of the 2019 elections. While she apologised for the tweets, subsequent opinion pieces written by the premier, one in which she compared the DA to the ANC, have angered party bosses.
Weighing in on the perceived fight with Maimane, Zille said: “I believe in open debate and it is rarely damaging over the long term. It is an entirely natural phenomenon for a new leader to want to flex his muscles, especially in relation to a former leader.”
According to sources, a failure to suspend her would cause Maimane to “lose face” among voters. Senior party insiders, who wished to remain anonymous, said that should Maimane back down, he would find himself in a “weakened position” in the party.
This was particularly so after Maimane announced on Saturday Zille’s suspension, only to be corrected with a statement from Selfe indicating that Zille would first present reasons why she should not be suspended.
The disciplinary process against her starts on Friday.