DA needs to focus on stabilising party

The leadership contest in the DA to replace James Selfe as chair of the federal council has taken an interesting turn, with former party leader Helen Zille throwing her hat in the ring by announcing she would make herself available for the position. She will be up against federal chair Athol Trollip, one of his deputies, Mike Waters, and deputy chair of the federal council Thomas Walters. But everyone knows the real contest will be between Zille and Trollip, and it is ultimately a fight over whether or not to continue on the current trajectory of trying to lure more black voters, or keeping the traditional, white voter base happy.

Zille explained her move to try to get back into the party’s leadership ranks as a move to stabilise the party.

She told our sister publication Sunday Times: “My reasons for doing this is that the party needs to be stabilised.”

It’s no secret that under Zille’s leadership, the DA grew phenomenally and proved itself a force to be reckoned with.

But under DA leader Mmusi Maimane’s leadership, the party – in 2016 – managed to grow its voter base and secure coalitions in three strategic metros as well as retain control of the City of Cape Town.

That all changed in May 2019 when the DA took a beating in the national elections, dropping its national support from 22% to just over 20%. It shed votes to the Freedom Front Plus but failed to pick up the middle-class black voters it had hoped to with Maimane at the helm of the party.

Since then, some within the party have been gunning for him and calling for an early congress to elect a new leadership.

Whatever the outcome in the battle for power within the DA, the party needs to regroup and stabilise itself if it wants to be taken seriously by the electorate.

Having a solid official opposition in parliament, legislatures and municipal councils is vital for a democracy to thrive.

Its core job is to hold those in the corridors of power accountable.

It is thus imperative that party members do not lose focus and become overly consumed by the internal party squabbles.