THE EMPTY CHAIR
GARETH VAN ONSELEN: The DA’s Gauteng dilemma
The choice of top candidates may be difficult for the DA in the next general election as it aims to win Gauteng as well as a national majority. Besides the party chief, four people stand apart from their colleagues
One of the puzzles facing the DA ahead of the 2019 elections is who to run as a candidate for the Gauteng premiership. The party stands a very real chance of bringing the ANC to below 50% in that province and, in a tightly fought race, who the relevant candidate is could make all the difference. Unfortunately, there appears on face value to be no-one in the current DA provincial leadership who embodies the necessary charisma and experience. One option, therefore, is to go with party leader Mmusi Maimane himself. That is something the DA has done before, in 2014, for similar reasons. Maimane’s electoral pull, which is now as powerful as it has ever been, could be the tipping point the party needs. One of the consequences, if the DA does win Gauteng with Maimane at the helm of that campaign, is that it will have to elect a new parliamentary leader in 2019. Thus it is worth looking at some of the possibilities on that front.First, however, it is worth saying something about the prospec...
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