{"id":103596,"date":"2026-02-08T19:39:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T17:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=103596"},"modified":"2026-02-08T19:39:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T17:39:50","slug":"steenhuisens-da-exit-raises-questions-over-power-donors-and-succession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/steenhuisens-da-exit-raises-questions-over-power-donors-and-succession\/","title":{"rendered":"Steenhuisen\u2019s DA exit raises questions over power, donors and succession"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read
\n04 February 2026<\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf8 Steenhuisen steps aside but the DA\u2019s succession battle is only just beginning.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Democratic Alliance\u2019s (DA) announcement that leader John Steenhuisen is stepping aside, declaring \u201cthe job is done\u201d after ushering the party into government, has sparked fresh debate over whether this is a dignified exit or a strategic retreat shaped by internal pressure.<\/p>\n

Political analyst Sandile Swana, speaking to Radio Islam International<\/em>, suggested Steenhuisen\u2019s departure may be less about celebration and more about protection.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sponsors the billionaires and tycoons behind the DA as well as the elders of the DA have given him an invisible golden parachute,\u201d Swana said, arguing that circumstances linked to Steenhuisen\u2019s conduct may have forced the party\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n

Swana compared the moment to previous DA transitions, including former leader Tony Leon, who \u201cstepped aside only to become the ambassador to Argentina.\u201d In his view, Steenhuisen\u2019s upbeat tone did not reflect major political achievements but rather the comfort of knowing he remains supported. \u201cHis spirits were high because of the golden parachute,\u201d he said, adding that Steenhuisen could \u201cpop up as an ambassador to Thailand or some other place.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the DA often presents itself as stable and unified, Swana rejected the idea that the party is without internal division.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have to agree that there\u2019s no such thing as a united DA,\u201d he said, noting that splits, coalitions and leadership battles are part of South Africa\u2019s broader political DNA.<\/p>\n

He argued that the DA\u2019s internal shift is also connected to wider global politics, including the rise of right-wing movements. Swana claimed there is pressure for the DA to become \u201cmore assertive\u201d and ensure the ANC in the Government of National Unity (GNU) remains \u201cunder the thumb\u2026 under the leash and controlled by the right-wing.\u201d<\/p>\n

He further suggested that Steenhuisen\u2019s removal is linked to the party\u2019s longer-term agenda, including foreign policy positioning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current move by the DA is to turn South Africa away from Iran, away from China, away from BRICS into much more favourable terms with Israel and the USA,\u201d Swana said.<\/p>\n

According to him, the Western Cape is central to that vision, describing it as a potential \u201chead office\u201d for closer alignment with the West including strategic military considerations around Simon\u2019s Town.<\/p>\n

Attention has now shifted to the succession battle, with names such as Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis emerging. Swana believes the outcome is already largely decided, with Helen Zille playing a decisive role.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelen Zille is probably the super boss of South African politics,\u201d he said, adding that she has likely endorsed Hill-Lewis.<\/p>\n

Swana said the DA\u2019s next leader will be expected to maintain a \u201cbusiness friendly business subordinate\u201d political direction both within the DA and in its relationship with the ANC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 04 February 2026 The Democratic Alliance\u2019s (DA) announcement that leader John Steenhuisen is stepping aside, declaring \u201cthe job is done\u201d after ushering the party into government, has sparked fresh debate over whether this is a dignified exit or a strategic retreat shaped by internal pressure. Political analyst Sandile Swana, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":103597,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Steenhuisen.jpeg?fit=316%2C160&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qWU","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 12:39:20","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}