Chiara Carter
Bitterness lingering after the choice of Gerald Morkel over populist Peter Marais to replace Hernus Kriel as leader of the National Party and premier in the Western Cape is likely to resurface at the party’s regional conference next week.
Marais is understood to have been pressured by grassroots supporters to contest the elections, but according to NP sources he has given the party leadership an undertaking he will not accept nomination. However, his supporters are understood to intend moving to isolate a conservative white grouping that they blame for stage- managing Marais’s defeat.
Party leaders are said to be concerned that Marais, who recently lunched twice with President Nelson Mandela, will be offered a diplomatic posting – a move thought likely to happen shortly after the regional conference. The NP is worried that it will feel the loss of the charismatic Marais during election campaigning.
Party officials declined to comment on speculation about growing tensions in the NP during the run-up to the conference, but it is understood that yet another faction wants to push former welfare minister Patrick Mackenzie.
About 220 delegates representing 90 district councils and about 700 branches in the region are expected to attend the conference.
Their discussions are likely to focus on election strategy aimed at consolidating power in the region and possible pacts or alliances with other parties.
On the agenda is ensuring a high profile for women in the region in the face of the African National Congress’s identification of col-oured women voters as potential supporters.