Did Helen Zille push Steenhuisen out of the leadership race?

DA leader John Steenhuisen’s decision to withdraw from the race for re-election at the party’s April elective conference has been linked to his strained relationship with Helen Zille, the party’s Federal Council chairperson.

A source close to Steenhuisen and well-placed within the DA’s national office said that while he cited focusing on his job as Minister of Agriculture as the reason, fatigue from micromanagement also played a role.

“The party and government responsibilities had made Steenhuisen exhausted, as the Foot-and-Mouth Disease demanded lots of his attention and focus,” the source said.

“Many of the provinces had asked him not to pull out, but I think he had just had it because the relationship between him and Zille was also no longer so good. You cannot be a leader of the party and have somebody that is the secretary-general (Federal Council chairperson) of the party trying to work against you.”

Seven provinces were firmly behind him, while support in the Western Cape and Gauteng was divided. “Even the leaders of those seven provinces were not happy about his withdrawal because they were taken by surprise as they believed that he was going to win by a landslide majority,” the source said.

He added that Steenhuisen feared Zille would continue to pull the strings and undermine him if re-elected Federal Council chairperson.

Zille dismissed the claim. “Complete bull. I do not micromanage anyone, and I was not standing to be the Federal Council chair again. So that proves your source is pure fiction,” she said.

Steenhuisen did not respond to questions sent to his ministry’s spokesperson, Joylene van Wyk, neither did he or van Wyk answer their phones by the time of publishing.

The source said tensions escalated after the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU), which Zille “did not really support for the DA to join.”

“Zille and her cabal started to blame him for being swallowed by the ANC. I think on the sideline, Zille was not happy with joining the GNU, but she has been pretending to be happy.”

The source added that Zille’s faction prioritized the party’s traditional Afrikaner voter base, while Steenhuisen focused on transformation and party growth.

“They don’t care about growing the party out of 20%, whereas John is pro-transformation. He wants to transform, he wants to grow the DA, and he wants those hundreds of thousands of voters to come to the DA.”

He said Steenhuisen had succeeded in attracting more black voters for the local government elections later this year and the 2029 general elections.

“Remember when he took over from Mmusi Maimane, black supporters were at around 16%, right now, according to DA polls, they are at 30% since we joined the GNU. Under him, we were going to be key players in metros and after the national government elections in 2029. There is no doubt that he grew this party by far.”

The source said Steenhuisen had planned to announce his withdrawal in Durban, his hometown, “This was to say this is where I started my political career, and this is where I want to make an announcement to pull out.”

With Steenhuisen out of the race, Solly Msimanga and Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis are among the main contenders.

Another DA MP who requested anonymity, said Steenhuisen’s focus on Agriculture was the main reason for his withdrawal.

“All he wants is to make sure that the Foot-and-Mouth Disease is controlled and does not want to be seen as conflated. The DA always criticises ministers for putting the party interest above their ministry and the country. He felt that he could not do both jobs (minister and party leader).”

She said the pressure of leading the party alongside ministerial duties was overwhelming. “As a leader, he had to be at every province and at every council meeting. This time around, the leader has to be available 24/7 for the party's job.”

The MP added that Zille and others had long known Steenhuisen would step down, which she called “the right decision for the interest of the country.”

Asked about the relationship between Steenhuisen and Zille, she said:

“The relationship was okay. People always want to make stories about Zille and John, but people have differences everywhere, but you cannot make it a personal thing. We are running a political party, and people can have differences, and if the differences were so grave, people would be killing one another as it happens in other organisations.”