AFPSouth African opposition leader John Steenhuisen believes he has what it takes to eventually become president, despite facing the thorny issue of race and the African National Congress's 30-year grip on power. He has argued that his party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), is the key to South Africa's progress. The centre-right movement emerged from the liberal white benches of the old apartheid parliament, positing itself as a liberal alternative to the ANC.
Steenhuisen joined the DA as an activist in the 1990s, but never graduated, which was later mocked by social media users and other politicians. In a defiant speech to parliament, Steenhuisen said "financial and work pressures" had forced him to drop out. He showed ambition as a budding politician, being elected as a councillor for his home city of Durban at 22 and is thought to be one of the youngest to have ever held this post.
In 2011, shortly after his resignation, Steenhuisen was elected to national parliament and three years later, he became the DA's chief whip. At this point, the party was preparing to make a major change. The DA has long been perceived as a party that promotes the interests of white, Asian, and colored people, in a country where they make up just 7%, 3%, and 8% of the population respectively. To diversify its appeal, the DA appointed its first black leader, Mmusi Maimane, who quit just four years later.
Mr. Steenhuisen was appointed as interim leader the following month, but what should have been an unquestionable triumph for this dedicated DA member was not without contention. Social media users pointed out that the DA leadership was now all white, while DA officials who had quit alongside Mr. Maimane warned the party was lurching back to the right.
When asked last year whether the DA's image as a "fundamentally white party" was a structural issue, Mr. Steenhuisen told the BBC: "People are looking beyond race towards competence, [the] ability to get things done and being able to deliver - that's the game in town and that's going to be the game in the next election." He opposes race quotas in the workplace, introduced by the ANC in a bid to close South Africa's racial economic gap - calling them "crude" and unsuccessful.
South African political analyst Richard Calland says that Mr. Steenhuisen comes across as someone who is privileged, but unconscious, unaware of the context, and makes it hard for him to extend his appeal to black voters, who are still far more likely to be living in poverty than the white population.
Despite these challenges, Mr. Steenhuisen is clearly popular within the DA, having been re-elected twice as party leader, receiving 80% or more of the vote each time. Some analysts believe a portion of his clout comes from Helen Zille, the DA's former leader and still a major political figure within South Africa.
In an effort to win more than half of the vote needed to take power, Mr. Steenhuisen has formed a coalition with a number of smaller parties and has acknowledged he may need to join forces with the ANC itself.
South African President Jacob Zuma has been accused of a "big bank heist" and a possible coalition between the ANC and the radical Economic Freedom Fighters. He also defended a DA election advert featuring a burning national flag, which angered some South Africans. Despite his outspoken nature, the DA leader can be sensitive about criticism of his party. He has engaged with criticism at press conferences and via phone calls to analysts or journalists.
In 2022, he appeared on the comedy show Podcast and Chill with MacG, where he appeared at ease, drinking gin with the young hosts and cracking jokes that made the hosts erupt with laughter. Fans of the podcast reacted with surprise, describing him as "hilarious", "a cool guy" and "really smart".
However, critics argue that Steenhuisen has blind spots when it comes to race. He believes South Africa is "ready" for a white president, comparing it to the success of Barack Obama and Rishi Sunak, who come from minority groupings in their country. Steenhuisen believes that South Africa is "ready" for a white president, comparing it to other countries like America and the UK.
