Top DA men and women believe their leader John Steenhuisen has stabilised the party and curbed factionalism within its ranks, and so deserves another three-year term in office.
This was the view of several provincial leaders and influential DA national figures the Sunday Times spoke to this week ahead of the party’s national federal congress next weekend in Midrand, Gauteng.
The DA insiders said they were convinced Steenhuisen had united a party that had been plagued by internal squabbles and public spats when he first took over as interim leader in November 2019, before he was elected for his first full term in November 2020.
They argued that a party that was still recovering from two significant electoral declines (national elections in 2019 and municipal elections in 2021) could not be handed over to “a political novice”, a jab at Steenhuisen’s opponent Mpho Phalatse.
“In all fairness, Mpho is a political novice and I don’t think the average DA delegate can trust a political novice ahead of a major election where the DA needs to be on the recovery. She's going to be walloped,” said a national leader sympathetic to Steenhuisen.
With just a week to go, indications are that all nine provinces have rallied behind Steenhuisen.
DA Mpumalanga leader Jane Sithole said infighting has now been eliminated within DA ranks under Steenhuisen and he has “enabled an environment where all members feel that they can be heard and contribute, so we all feel part of the team in the DA”.
Sithole says Steenhuisen took over a party that was in a difficult position after the 2019 national elections when it lost seats in the National Assembly.
“We needed to chart a new way forward and John has refocused the DA on issues that matter to ordinary South Africans. For example, this year he led a campaign on the cost-of-living crisis that resonated with people,” she said.
“John has led the DA to a point where it focuses on the needs of voters first and foremost, and voters are responding warmly. The DA is now a focused machine, and that is the key reason John should be retained.”
In all fairness, Mpho is a political novice and I don’t think the average DA delegate can trust a political novice ahead of a major election where the DA needs to be on the recovery. She's going to be walloped
— National leader sympathetic to Steenhuisen
Leon Basson, the leader of the DA in North West, said his delegation was firmly behind Steenhuisen.
“As a provincial leader, I support John Steenhuisen. More than 97% of North West delegates will be voting for him,” he said.
Asked why, Basson said: “When John became leader, the DA was factionalised and there were negative media leaks every week.
“The party was criticised for being light on policy and too busy fighting with each other and not fighting for voters.
"John has turned that around. He has turned a climate of mistrust into a climate of unity. The DA under John is united and coherent, and we have clear policies now.”
A national leader said the support Steenhuisen was enjoying resonated across the country.
“The caucus that John leads here in parliament, the majority, if not all those caucus members are backing him for a second term. And these are leaders with influence over constituencies and influence over the size and debates in their constituencies who so happen to be some of the people who are congress delegates,” said the DA insider.
Another national figure who spoke on condition of anonymity said when Steenhuisen first took over in 2019, DA internal polling put its electoral support at a weekly average of 16% but this has now improved to 25%.
“It shows that over time we’ve been able to claw back a lot of support, not just in traditional markets ... particularly in some smaller provinces [and] some new communities.
“Things have drastically improved, I mean people are a lot more collegial towards each other. Yes, there will be differences, people will argue and debate matters, but overall the internal health of the party is sorted, relative to where it was.”
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