Maimane’s performance now under increased scrutiny – analyst

Newly elected chairperson of the Democratic Alliance (DA) Federal Council (FedCo) Helen Zille said she would “stay in her lane” following her surprise return yesterday to politics in the DA’s second most powerful position.

Her appointment as the party’s FedCo chairperson has led many to question what this means for leader Mmusi Maimane’s future within the DA.

Zille said she was very humbled and grateful in being elected and promised not to interfere with Maimane’s role as party head.

“I know exactly what this role entails. I will stay in my lane. This is a job that coordinates different structures, functions and systems of the DA,” said Zille.

While Zille and Maimane may have put on a united front yesterday during a press briefing following her appointment, political analyst Daniel Silke said the move would put Maimane’s performance under increased scrutiny.

Silke said Zille was going to find herself caught between a rock and a hard place.

“The DA is currently neither appealing to its core base nor its newer target markets. And its personality and strategic in-fighting further contributes to this,” said Silke.

He said the fact that Zille was a former powerful leader of the party and came back into a senior position through the structures of the party was a recipe for a fight over dominance.

“As current and former leaders, both Maimane and Zille will have to resist the temptation of seeking dominance at the political expense of one another. That might be the biggest challenge of Zille’s win today,” said Silke.

He said it would be difficult for the two to work together because their philosophies were at loggerheads.

“In the end, the voters of South Africa will decide if this move is successful or not,” said Silke.

Maimane said he was looking forward to the new energy and ideas that Zille would bring to the leadership collective of the DA.

“Helen has served the party in various positions over the past years, and brings experience and political clout second to none,” said Maimane.

He said the election of a new chairperson presented an opportunity for renewal and change for the DA considering that the position was previously held by James Selfe for nearly 20 years.

Zille had been competing against former DA Port Elizabeth mayor Athol Trollip and MPs Mike Waters and Thomas Walters.

She won after a highly contested internal campaign and was announced as the new chair following a two-day sitting of the party’s FedCo.

In 2017, Zille was briefly placed on suspension for bringing the DA into disrepute after tweeting: “For those claiming legacy of colonialism was ONLY negative‚ think of our independent judiciary‚ transport infrastructure‚ piped water.”

– gcinan@citizen.co.za

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