DA leader John Steenhuisen’s commitment to the Government of National Unity (GNU) has turned him into a target, with senior figures accusing him of defying the party’s mandate and quietly manoeuvring to replace him with an anti-GNU leader.

Sources across the DA say Steenhuisen’s support for the GNU has triggered a coordinated pushback from a Johannesburg-based cabal and influential leaders in Cape Town who view the unity government as a betrayal of the party’s core posture.

“This is about power and direction,” said a senior DA insider.

“Steenhuisen chose the GNU because he is about transformation. Others want their own person at the top and they want out of the GNU.”

The DA joined the GNU following the 2024 national elections, arguing that a fractured result required stability, economic reform and constitutional continuity.

The DA sold the move as a pragmatic intervention to keep the country governable, prevent policy paralysis and hold the ANC to account from within.

But critics inside the party say the GNU blurred the DA’s identity and diluted its opposition mandate.

“John is all about unity and stopped listening to anti-transformational forces,” another source said.

“He is accused of defending the coalition even when it cuts across what the party resolved.”

That internal friction has now burst into the open.

Reports are emerging that Steenhuisen is set to announce he will not be available to contest the DA’s leadership race.

This is as the party is heading to its federal congress in months to come. A new leader will be elected.

The congress is shaping up as a heavyweight battle, with Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi all tipped as challengers.

Steenhuisen withdrawal would clear the path for a realignment at the top and sharpen the fight over the DA’s future direction.

However, Steenhusien dismissed claims of leadership exit.

According to multiple sources, a powerful faction aligned with DA chairperson Helen Zille is backing Hill-Lewis, framing him as a generational shift and a firmer counterweight to the GNU.

“There is a belief that the party needs to reclaim a sharper opposition edge,” said an another DA insider said.

“Hill-Lewis is seen as the vehicle for that but the problem is that he does not have footprint.”

Others dispute the portrayal of the revolt as ideological.

They argue it is factional, rooted in resistance to transformation and regional power plays.

“This isn’t about principle. It’s about who controls the DA and who gets to decide its posture nationally,” a source said.

Steenhuisen’s allies insist he acted within mandate, stressing that the GNU was a tactical choice in an unprecedented political moment.

“He prioritised stability and influence over slogans and that took courage,”said one supporter.

Yet the accusations persist that Steenhuisen grew too close to the unity project, defended it too fiercely, and alienated those who wanted a harder line.

Whether his reported exit is a personal calculation or the result of sustained internal pressure, the message is unmistakable: the DA is at war with itself over the GNU.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

IOL Politics

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