Mmusi Maimane’s leadership of the DA is set to come under sharp discussion at a federal executive meeting tomorrow, with the party’s old guard said to be baying for his blood after poor results in this week’s general elections.
The DA for the first time failed to increase its electoral support, dropping its share of national votes from the 22.23% under Helen Zille to 20.76% this year. Those involved in a fresh bid to oust Maimane are said to include current and former MPs and MPLs from the party’s neo-conservative grouping, known in DA circles as the “old guard”, which does not agree with the direction the party has taken under him.
“They are gloating. Even before the results started coming in, there were so many of them that were waiting for Mmusi to fail,” said a well-placed source.
However, Maimane still enjoys support from some of the party’s senior leaders, who said the loss of votes was not all bad.
“Yes, we have lost support to the Freedom Front Plus, but perhaps it’s about time we lost the right-wing conservatives in the party because we are trying to build a party that represents the interests of all South Africans," said an insider.
Read the full story in the Sunday Times.
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