South Africa’s main opposition party, widely seen as the voice of the white minority, has a rare chance to shake off its conservative image when it elects a new leader this weekend.
A black man, a woman and a farmer are all vying for the leadership of the Democratic Alliance (DA) at a party conference near Johannesburg, replacing retiring veteran Tony Leon.
Cape Town mayor Helen Zille is favourite to win the three-horse race and see off a challenge from the party’s black chairperson, Joe Seremane, and Eastern Cape leader Athol Trollip when members cast their votes on Sunday.
While Leon, a lawyer who entered Parliament in his 20s, faced accusations of elitism and racism from the ruling African National Congress (ANC), similar charges against his potential successors will be harder to stick.
All three, for example, are fluent in Xhosa on top of English and Afrikaans and all have had successful careers outside politics.
Zille first came to prominence when she helped expose events behind the killing of black rights activist Steve Biko in police custody while working as a journalist 30 years ago, before becoming provincial education minister.
Her experience as mayor of Cape Town over the last year has also earned her respect as a competent administrator who understands the need to appeal across the racial spectrum.
“Our biggest challenge in this country is the politics of identity … to break away from the shackles of race,” Zille said as she announced her candidacy last month.
Seremane, a teacher by training, spent six years as a prisoner alongside Nelson Mandela on Robben Island for his anti-apartheid activities in the radical Pan Africanist Congress.
Although he wants people to stop “harping on” about race, his colour is seen as a solution to much of the party’s problems, although his age (69) and lack of charisma have proved a drawback.
Trollip was largely unknown outside the DA before announcing his candidacy, but made headlines when he stated he was white on the outside and black inside.
‘Exciting time’
“This is a very exciting time,” University of the Western Cape political studies lecturer Keith Gottschalk told Agence France-Presse.
“All three candidates are at least trilingual. It is symbolic and shows that a new generation is emerging to the top of the DA who will be serious about broadening party support.”
The DA, the official parliamentary opposition with 57 MPs out of 400, has little support among black people. Most of its voters are English and Afrikaans speakers, coloured people and some Indians.
Steven Friedman, a researcher at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa, based in Pretoria, believes the country needs an opposition with empathy for the ills black people suffered under the apartheid regime.
Friedman cited a DA election campaign based on “fighting back” against the government, which was interpreted by many black people as a fight against them.
“The issue for the DA is not about attracting black votes. It needs to position itself to become part of the mainstream South African discussion.”
The DA was born in 2000 from a marriage between the former liberal Democratic Party, also headed by Leon, and the New National Party, a successor of the National Party that governed the country through apartheid.
The alliance has been marked by tensions between liberals and conservatives, which still remain.
Leon, who retires after eight years as leader of the official opposition, believes a black leader might help attract new votes, but this was not enough in itself.
He has refused to anoint a successor, saying only they would need courage.
“It is a very lonely job. Sometimes it is very difficult, sometimes it seems the whole world is against you,” he told AFP. — AFP