JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA JUNE 13: Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane and Western Cape premier Helen Zille during a media briefing where Zille apologized for her colonialism tweets on June 13, 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Zille apologized for her tweets that defended some aspects of colonialism and admitted that she shouldn’t have continued to defend the views after the first apology. She also agreed to step down from her positions on all decision-making structures but will remain premier of the Western Cape. (Photo by Gallo Images / Beeld / Wikus de Wet)
DA Federal Council meeting: A preview of this weekend’s political showdown
The DA will define its future with the appointment of a Fed-ex council chairperson. Who will it be, Zille or Trollip?
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA JUNE 13: Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane and Western Cape premier Helen Zille during a media briefing where Zille apologized for her colonialism tweets on June 13, 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Zille apologized for her tweets that defended some aspects of colonialism and admitted that she shouldn’t have continued to defend the views after the first apology. She also agreed to step down from her positions on all decision-making structures but will remain premier of the Western Cape. (Photo by Gallo Images / Beeld / Wikus de Wet)
The battle lines have been drawn and this weekend’s main political attraction, the DA Federal Council meeting, promises to be a blockbuster treat.
As the hours wind down, factions in the DA will hope that they have done enough to sway the key decision-makers who will be central to electing the main opposition party’s next federal council chairperson.
This position differs from that of the DA federal chairperson. James Selfe, who has held the federal council chairperson post for 19 years, was responsible for enacting resolutions and decisions made by the party’s federal structures.
While this is a more hands-on post, the federal chairperson is regarded as the deputy of the federal leader (Mmusi Maimane). The role is more autonomous and it involves:
- presiding over the federal congress;
- deputising for the federal leader if he or she is absent; and
- being responsible for the coordination and alignment of party policy.
However, with Selfe moving over to lead the DA’s newly-established governance unit, a spot has opened up for someone to take up the federal council chairperson position, possibly one of the most influential posts in the structure of the party.
What’s the DA Federal Council meeting all about?
The decision on who will front the lines of the party’s federal council will be made at this all-important meeting, a two-day affair that will reveal a lot about the DA factions.
Former DA leader, Helen Zille, threw a spanner in the works when she submitted her application for the post, stating that it was her last-ditch effort to revive the party’s ailing engine.
The move was supported by the party’s liberalist faction, led by former leaders Tony Leon and Ryan Coetzee. Rumours have since been rife about Mmusi Maimane’s displeasure with this, as he is backing former Nelson Mandela Bay mayor, Athol Trollip to push his progressive political agenda as the fed-ex council chairperson.
Who is competing for the role?
However, the two leaders, who are favourites to assume the role, aren’t alone in the pursuit for the post. Mike Waters, the party’s Deputy Chief Whip and Thomas Walters (Deputy Chairperson of the DA Federal Council) are also contesting for the position.
It will be a close one but come Monday, 21 October, the DA will know exactly where it stands.
There is no denying that the party is at an ideological crossroads, one that will define its future moving forward. Maimane’s influence and standing in the party will surely be tested.
However, Trollip, who has gone against Zille on two occasions and lost, will know that he comes second-favourite to Zille.
