Newly appointed DA federal council chair Helen Zille is adamant she will not step on leader Mmusi Maimane’s toes and plans to play a background role in her new position.
In an interview with Business Day on Monday, Zille said those who were sceptical of her return to the DA leadership must “just judge me by how I am”.
“I will certainly try to stay in my lane and I am very committed to that. People know I am a strong personality … but what they don’t know is how well I can play a background role … and I have done many of those in my life,” she said.
Zille was elected the DA’s federal council chair on Sunday, which is arguably the most powerful position in the party.
The position fell vacant after the incumbent, James Selfe, announced his resignation following the bruising May 2019 general election in which the DA lost support for the first time.
Selfe will now take up the position of head of the party’s governance unit.
Zille’s return to the top leadership comes more than three years after she stepped down as leader of the DA and was replaced by Maimane.
Zille and Maimane, who have had differences in the past, will now have to navigate the new power relations.
Zille on Monday said she has three priorities as federal council chair.
She will be chairing her first federal executive meeting on Wednesday in the wake of Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba’s resignation.
Mashaba’s resignation was influenced by Zille’s election to the position of federal council chair.
“Herman Mashaba joined the party when I was the leader ... and when I subscribe to exactly the same values and the vision that I prescribe to now, so my question is what has changed. It is still me,” Zille said.
The emergency federal executive meeting will discuss the way forward for the DA in the metro.
Zille said she will be undertaking a thorough examination of the functions of the federal council chair, which Selfe had carefully set out to the review committee.
One of her priorities will be to give effect to the many resolutions passed at last weekend’s meeting at which she was elected. These include resolutions to hold an early congress, establish a policy review committee, and convene a policy conference.
The party has been going through a tumultuous time with strong divisions on what direction it should be taking, especially after the May election.
When Zille made the surprise announcement that she was standing for election to the federal council chair, she explained that the DA had recently gone through a period of turmoil and distress and had to reflect, introspect and begin the process of reconnecting with voters.
She had said that if she was elected, her objective would be to support the leadership in its goal of stabilising the DA and bringing it back on track.
Zille on Monday said she had stood on a ticket of unifying the party. “I will do my very best within the mandate of the chair of the federal council to achieve that,” she said.
Whether Zille’s actions will echo her words will be critical for how the party deals with charting the way forward.
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