DA rejects IRR’s ‘naked opportunism’ with support for ‘white man Winde’ as next DA leader
Chief whip tells the institute to either join their party or start their own, instead of allegedly pretending to be a non-profit organisation.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde. Picture: Courtney Africa
In a statement on Wednesday, DA chief whip John Steenhuisen slammed the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) for how it involves itself in the party politics of the DA.
The IRR recently welcomed former DA leader Helen Zille into its ranks as a “senior fellow”.
However, it was an opinion piece penned by IRR analyst Hermann Pretorius that particularly raised eyebrows on Tuesday after Pretorius called on DA leader Mmusi Maimane to resign following the party’s “worst political performance” in the 2019 elections.
He wrote: “It might be cruel to place the blame squarely on Maimane, but that is the nature of political leadership”, and warned that “the DA is losing people, money and voters”.
Pretorius also slammed Maimane for having used a vehicle sponsored by Steinhoff, despite acknowledging that the circumstances around the matter were still unclear and it was not proven that Maimane had acted corruptly.
“What is now clear is that Maimane’s reputation and position is weakening perceptibly almost by the day,” he added.
He then lobbied strongly for current Western Cape premier Alan Winde to take over the party, primarily arguing that Winde had an excellent political record and that his being a white male should actually be celebrated in the supposed spirit of nonracialism.
“In terms of his record in governance and at the ballot box alone, Winde seems an obvious candidate to lead his party nationally from its current malaise to a recovery, slow as such a recovery might prove to be. But in his short time as Premier, Winde has managed to go beyond mere competence by planting something resembling the seed of a DA recovery.”
He argued that Winde should be picked “because he is a white man”, saying that Winde’s election as the leader would “reject the notion that the skin colour of politicians has any bearing on their ability to improve the lives of their constituents – and I want the party to do it in the clearest, most unapologetic way: by blatantly and unashamedly rejecting the premise that the race of a politician is relevant to the difference they can make in the lives of ordinary South Africans. I want the DA to dismiss the race debate for what it is, and for what ordinary South Africans know it to be: a diversion from failure and a blame game. I want the DA to be honest with the people of South Africa and to declare: we think this pale male, with his record in government, is the best person for the job of leading our country out of the doldrums, and if you care about his skin colour, you are the racist, not us.”
He argued that the “seed of the DA’s recovery has been planted by a white man in the Western Cape. If the party has any bottle, any mettle, any fight left at all, it will see in the leadership of Alan Winde its future as the real party for all South Africans”.
The IRR then asked supporters of its position to “stand with the IRR” by joining their organisation.
‘The seed of the DA’s recovery has been planted by a white man in the Western Cape.’ Alan Winde should be the new leader of the DA. Stand with the IRR at #JoinTheIRR or SMS your name to 32823 (SMSes cost R1, Ts and Cs apply) https://t.co/SnRaRnLg6f
— South African Institute of Race Relations (@IRR_SouthAfrica) October 1, 2019
They also endorsed the Pretorius opinion piece in a later tweet. It’s unclear what Winde himself thinks of his unexpected endorsement, however, and he has not made public any intention to take over the party.
The piece makes the case for robust non-racialism and seeks to stimulate an authentic conversation about the future of ideas in SA. Read it.
— South African Institute of Race Relations (@IRR_SouthAfrica) October 1, 2019
Steenhuisen, however, made it clear the DA wanted nothing to do with the IRR’s latest messaging, rejecting it as “naked opportunism displayed by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) with its latest missive, in which it apparently seeks to raise funds in support of a presumed leadership contest within the DA”.
He said the DA had “noted the obsessive preoccupation that the IRR seems to have with the DA’s internal political and ideological conversations. This preoccupation has been increasing over the course of the last year or two.”
He encouraged the IRR, given that they had “such strong opinions about the DA’s leadership and internal debates”, to become members of the DA and “exercise their membership rights to participate in the DA’s next Congress, at which the party’s leadership will be elected, instead of sniping from the side-lines and shamelessly piggy-backing their fundraising appeals on to it”.
“The South African Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to receive or impart information or ideas. The IRR is therefore free to engage in whatever ideological or philosophical conversations it wishes to. However, it is also guaranteed the freedom, in terms of section 19(1) of the Constitution, to join or form a political party.
“Given their obsession with the DA, the other option for the IRR is to form their own political party and contest elections in its own name – rather than attempt to piggy-back on the DA’s successes in government, as it is currently trying to do while fronting as an NPO.”
He said the DA would not be distracted from “the important task of government, which it has been given by the voters of the Western Cape, Tshwane, Johannesburg, Cape Town and a host of other municipalities”.
“Nor shall this distract us from the equally important task of providing a strong opposition in Parliament, the provincial legislatures, and all municipalities in which we have been entrusted to represent millions of voters across South Africa.”
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