Democratic Alliance leader, John Steenhuisen. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen is adamant that he was not forced into withdrawing from contesting for a third term as party leader.
On Wednesday, Steenhuisen announced that he would not seek a third term. However, he would stay on until a new leader was elected at the party’s April congress.
At a briefing in Durban, Steenhuisen was flanked by his allies in the party, including the DA’s KwaZulu-Natal provincial chair and Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson, during his announcement.
Allegations resurfaced from party insiders that he had fallen out with a faction perceived to be led by the party’s federal chair, Helen Zille, and that he was forced not to contest at the next conference.
“I don’t get forced to do anything,” Steenhuisen said in an exclusive interview with the Mail & Guardian on Wednesday. “I have been in politics since I was 22 years old. I don’t get forced into doing anything.
“I have been in politics at the highest level for a number of years. Nobody forces my hand. I make decisions that I think are in the best interest of the party and the best interest of the people in the party.”
Earlier this month, Zille told the M&G that the allegations circulating within party structures — that she was playing a role in efforts to weaken Steenhuisen’s position — were “a total invention”.
“It is entirely untrue, as anyone who knows what is going on understands. My job is to preserve the DA’s institutions and make sure they work well for everyone and are not weaponised in any internal squabbles,” she said.
Steenhuisen was recently investigated by the party’s federal legal commission (FLC) over claims that he abused the organisation’s funds for personal use via a party credit card.
However, the FLC cleared him of misappropriation but found that there was prima facie evidence that he brought the organisation into disrepute during his public fallout with former treasurer Dion George, who recently quit the DA.
Speaking to the M&G, Steenhuisen said he was not aware of people who might be plotting to have him removed from the party.
“If there is a group of people who want to do that, well, that’s fine. I intend to remain in politics and serve the party. If the party doesn’t want that, then the party must make a choice.
“I think that I have given great value to the party, especially the party that I inherited, and the DA today is in better shape than when I took over in 2019, when we were sitting at 16% in the polls and the media had written us off. I now hand over a party that’s sitting at above 30% in the polls,” he said.
Steenhuisen said his efforts to strengthen the party had ensured that the DA was central to discussions about the country’s future, leaving a strong record for his successor.
“If there are people who don’t want to acknowledge that, then that’s up to them. I’m going nowhere. I love my party, I love my country and I intend to serve them both for many, many years to come.”
Asked about his relationship with Zille, he described it as a “good professional working relationship” that has worked well over several years.
He added that he would like to remain in the government because he had a lot of work to do in the agriculture department but it would be up to the party to decide that.
“We don’t deploy ourselves. We are deployed and serve at the pleasure of the party and the new leader must decide what the shape and face of the executive looks like.”