The new leader of South Africa's second-largest party has to solve a problem that none of his three immediate predecessors were able to crack: how to extend the Democratic Alliance's popularity beyond its core support mostly made up of white people and other racial minorities.
Despite the advent of the multi-ethnic 'Rainbow Nation' and the end of the racist apartheid system in 1994, South Africa remains fractured on racial lines. For the DA to take charge of the country, Geordin Hill-Lewis, who took over the reins of the party from John Steenhuisen on Sunday, must find a way to bridge the divides and appeal to the country's black majority.
Since the 2014 general election its share of the vote has been stuck at 20% or thereabouts. There was a lot of noise surrounding the 2024 election result, which saw the African National Congress support drop below 50% for the first time and forced it into a coalition with the DA and eight other parties. But the entry of the pro-business DA into power disguised the fact that it still only polled just shy of 22%.
Hill-Lewis, who at 39 maintains a youthful appearance, has acknowledged this gap and speaking on the SABC, the national broadcaster, on Monday he said the party needed to 'close the trust deficit'. Briefing journalists later, he made it clear that winning the trust of more black people, who make up about 80% of the population, would be a 'main focus of mine'.
He stated that 'for a long time the racial silos in South Africa have been firm and concrete but they are breaking and cracking and that's encouraging.' The party's last attempt to appeal to more black voters backfired when its first black leader, Mmusi Maimane, quit in 2019, saying that the DA was 'not the vehicle best suited to take forward the vision of building' a united South Africa.
Things may be different this time as when Hill-Lewis was elected, black politicians such as Solly Msimanga and Siviwe Gwarube were voted into senior party positions alongside him, which Hill-Lewis described as 'by far the most diverse and young group of leaders the DA has had in its history'. While the new leadership is more racially mixed than before, the gender imbalance remains, with just one woman in a senior position.
In his early statements, Hill-Lewis did not outline any fresh policies that might broaden the party's appeal but clearly believes that addressing issues like governmental competence and crime will resonate with voters. 'We have to make it clear to black South Africans that we are genuinely invested in their advancement, but we do not support the current system of BEE,' he said, referring to the ANC's policy of Black Economic Empowerment.
Political analyst Dr. Levy Ndou remarked that Hill-Lewis' election, alongside other young leaders, could be a 'very good thing' for the DA as it now resembles a multiracial party. Unlike his predecessor Steenhuisen, who took a ministerial role in the coalition government, Hill-Lewis remains Cape Town's mayor, allowing him to maintain a strong stance on local governance while campaigning for national elections.
Despite the challenges, Hill-Lewis is determined to reshape the DA's image and align it more closely with the majority of South Africans, making it a critical moment for the party's future.
