Mission accomplished: Hill-Lewis and Macpherson pay tribute to outgoing DA leader

Two of Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen’s closest allies have paid tribute to his leadership after he announced on Wednesday that he won’t be seeking a third term as party leader.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has described Steenhuisen as one of the most consequential leaders in the party’s history. Meanwhile, Public Works Minister and Steenhuisen’s long-running campaign manager, Dean Macpherson, has expressed similar sentiment—saying he’s achieved what he set out to do when he was first elected leader in 2019.

Calling it quits on leading the DA when his term ends in April, Steenhuisen named both Hill-Lewis and Macpherson in his "Mission Accomplished" speech he made today as among those he mentored and nurtured to rise to higher office.

Hill-Lewis, who has long been considered Steenhuisen’s most likely successor, has acknowledged him for taking over at a difficult time for the party and for having steadied the ship. He says Steenhuisen deserves honour and recognition for what he’s achieved by re-focusing the party and returning it to growth in the 2024 elections.

“John leaves the Democratic Alliance in a better state than when he took the helm in 2019. It is now up to all of us — every DA member — to build on these foundations and take the party to greater heights,” Hill-Lewis wrote in an X post.

Meanwhile, the party’s KwaZulu-Natal leader and Steenhuisen’s long-time confidante, Dean Macpherson, says Steenhuisen has played an important role in the party’s trajectory in the province where he first entered politics as a city councillor.

Macpherson has described him as dedicated, loyal, and hardworking, as well as having been a constant source of wisdom to the party’s provincial structures.