DA federal chairperson Helen Zille says she is on good terms with the outgoing party leader, John Steenhuisen.
This comes after reports that the two had a fallout and were not on good terms for the past two months.
Zille responded to a reporter’s question about their relationship during a media briefing in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
“I must have sent him about four WhatsApps yesterday, and you know that in the modern world, you talk on WhatsApp very rarely on the phone, it’s always on WhatsApp,” she said.
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Was Zille invited to Steenhuisen’s briefing?
Zille said she was unable to attend the press briefing at which Steenhuisen announced that he would not be contesting another term as DA leader. This briefing was held in Durban last week but Zille says she had other engagements on that day.
“As you all know, it was held at short notice, and I am running an intense campaign in Joburg and I have a full campaign programme…one cannot suddenly change an entire programme, public meetings like that at a days’ notice unless you have a death in the family or something like that so that is the reason,” she said.
Last week, Steenhuisen told reporters that one of the reasons he has decided not contest for a third term as party leader is that he needs to focus on his role as the minister of agriculture.
But some believed that there is more to this announcement than meets the eye since this announcement came days after the party’s finance chairperson, Dion George, announced that he is leaving the DA. The two leaders were at loggerheads and had both been told to stop airing their disputes in the media.
Upcoming DA Federal Congress
Now with the DA Federal Congress in a few weeks, Zille is expected to step down from her role as federal council chairperson and focus on her mayoral campaign in Johannesburg.
For now, there are several names expected to take over as DA federal leader, including Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, DA federal chairperson Ivan Meyer, the premier of the Western Cape Alan Winde, and the minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi.
Meanwhile, Zille is expected to be sworn in as a councillor in the City of Johannesburg soon.
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