The DA is squaring up for a bruising battle, with the attitudes of most federal leaders having hardened against Western Cape Premier Helen Zille after a lengthy mediation process ended in acrimony. Zille, who was served with a notice of intention to suspend, has considerable support in the party, rendering the federal executive, which announced her suspension on Saturday, unable to remove her as premier. Insiders said the suspension signified a change of strategy by the executive, which is now expected to take a far harder line when sanctioning Zille. While the party has been criticised for allowing her to remain as premier, insiders said that given her strong support in the Western Cape legislature, there was no certainty that a vote of no confidence to remove her would be successful.
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