Assessment of the party by the US Embassy Pretoria's Charges d'Affaires Donald Teitelbaum, May 4 2007
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will elect a new leader during its annual conference 5-6 May, with the hope that a fresh face and a new strategy will allow the party to break through racial barriers and become more relevant, not only as an ANC watchdog but as a viable political alternative for all South Africans. Thus far, the country's political stratification has been largely based on race, leaving the DA unable to attract more than 12 percent of the electorate. Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille, who has managed to keep the city's fragile coalition alive for over a year, is widely expected to win and accept, provided she be allowed to keep her position as Mayor.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will elect a new leader during its annual conference 5-6 May, with the hope that a fresh face and a new strategy will allow the party to break through racial barriers and become more relevant, not only as an ANC watchdog but as a viable political alternative for all South Africans. Thus far, the country's political stratification has been largely based on race, leaving the DA unable to attract more than 12 percent of the electorate. Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille, who has managed to keep the city's fragile coalition alive for over a year, is widely expected to win and accept, provided she be allowed to keep her position as Mayor.
In the short-term, Zille is by far the DA's best candidate and will portray the opposition as a potential cooperative partner in government. The DA's long-term goal of widening its support base depends both on Zille's performance and altering party policies and practices that have, until now, left the DA a mainly-white bastion. Under Zille's leadership, the DA will not transform overnight. However, there is a growing audience for her pragmatic, can-do management style which has won her grudging (and quiet) respect from even her harshest political rivals. Read more ...
Source: Wikileaks.
Quoted by POLITICSWEB, 3 November 2011
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