DA leader John Steenhuisen dismisses rumours of leadership exit

Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen says that until he reveals a full set of facts, speculation about an imminent announcement he will make tomorrow should be avoided.

Steenhuisen set tongues wagging earlier on Tuesday when the party issued a notice that he would make an announcement of national importance and in the public interest in his hometown of Durban.

However, he has responded with a post on his social media account on X, downplaying reports that he is about to shelve ambitions to run for another term as party leader.

Party leader since 2019, when Mmusi Maimane quit after a smear campaign ostensibly linked to election results, John Steenhuisen has emerged victorious in two successive leadership battles at the party’s Federal Congress, held every three years.

While nominations have not officially opened for the April congress, Steenhuisen has until now given no indications that he will not stand again, despite being embroiled in a recent public fallout with former party treasurer Dion George after removing him as minister last November.

Just ten days ago, Steenhuisen told parliamentary journalists he was putting that debacle behind him. He stated that he was just getting on with leading the party and talking to voters, noting that his focus is dealing with problems and issues that are the voters’ concerns.

While sources have told EWN that Steenhuisen has since had a rethink about extending his leadership, he has responded to reports by posting a cryptic picture on his X account.

READ: Steenhuisen expected to bow out of DA’s leadership race

It portrays former US President Harry Truman holding up a 1948 edition of the Chicago Daily Tribune with the infamous erroneous headline, “Dewey Defeats Truman,” from when the paper incorrectly predicted the outcome of that presidential election.

Should Steenhuisen decide to bow out of the April leadership race, it could throw the field wide open for other contenders, including Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, who has until now been reluctant to challenge Steenhuisen.