Can this man broaden the appeal of a South African party seen by some as 'too white'?

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The new leader of South Africa's second-largest party has to solve a problem that none of his three immediate predecessors were able to crack: how to extend the Democratic Alliance's popularity beyond its core support mostly made up of white people and other racial minorities.

Despite the advent of the multi-ethnic "Rainbow Nation" and the end of the racist apartheid system in 1994, South Africa remains fractured on racial lines.

For the DA to take charge of the country, Geordin Hill-Lewis, who took over the reins of the party from John Steenhuisen on Sunday, must find a way to bridge the divides and appeal to the country's black majority.

Since the 2014 general election its share of the vote has been stuck at 20% or thereabouts.

There was a lot of noise surrounding the 2024 election result, which saw the African National Congress support drop below 50% for the first time and forced it into a coalition with the DA and eight other parties. But the entry of the pro-business DA into power disguised the fact that it still only polled just shy of 22%.

Hill-Lewis, who at 39 maintains a youthful appearance, has acknowledged this gap and speaking on the SABC, the national broadcaster, on Monday he said the party needed to "close the trust deficit".

Briefing journalists later, he made it clear that winning the trust of more black people, who make up about 80% of the population, would be a "main focus of mine".

"For a long time the racial silos in South Africa have been firm and concrete but they are breaking and cracking and that's encouraging," he said.

The party's last attempt to appeal to more black voters backfired when its first black leader, Mmusi Maimane, quit in 2019 just four years into the role, saying that the DA was "not the vehicle best suited to take forward the vision of building" a united South Africa.

Things may be different this time as when Hill-Lewis was elected on Sunday, black politicians such as Solly Msimanga, the party's leader in Gauteng province, Siviwe Gwarube and Solly Malatsi were voted into senior party positions alongside him.

Hill-Lewis described the successful candidates as by "far the most diverse and young group of leaders the DA has had in its history".

The new leadership is more racially mixed than before, though with just one woman in a senior position, the gender imbalance remains.

In his early statements as leader, Hill-Lewis did not outline any fresh policies which might broaden the party's appeal but he clearly believes that if he can continue hammering away at issues such as competence in government and the country's high crime levels, then people will come round.

"We have to make it clear to black South Africans that we are genuinely invested in their advancement, but we do not support the current system of BEE," he said referring to the ANC's policy of Black Economic Empowerment, an attempt to redress the racial imbalances in business, which the DA opposes.

Political analyst Dr Levy Ndou said Hill-Lewis' election, alongside other young leaders in the party, "ushers in a new era" and could be a "very good thing" for the organisation.

Ndou reflected that while "race has always been a factor" in the DA, he said the party had sought to address it with its new leadership that "resembles a party that is multiracial".

Unlike his predecessor Steenhuisen, who is a cabinet minister and member of parliament, Hill-Lewis has decided not to take up a role in the coalition government and remain as mayor of Cape Town.

This puts him in the interesting position of having to manage a fractious relationship with the ANC in government while also campaigning to defeat the party at the local elections due at some point at the end of this year or the beginning of next.

The DA had been a fierce critic of the ANC on many economic and foreign policy issues and the uneasy national alliance has faced several hurdles. Despite this, both parties have managed to keep the union together.

Hill-Lewis had his political start in the DA as an 18-year-old and soon rose through the party ranks.

Political analyst Sandile Swana described him as someone who had been "groomed in the DA".

In 2011, at 24, he was elected as an MP, becoming the youngest lawmaker at that time.

A decade later, he made history again when he became Cape Town's youngest mayor.

While maintaining that he has no intention of taking up a post in President Cyril Ramaphosa's cabinet, Hill-Lewis does intend to maintain a firm grip over DA ministers in government. He confirmed there would be a performance review in the coming months.

"If after that I think it needs changing, then we'll do that. No-one is entitled to any office or position. It must be earned through performance," he said.

Additional reporting by Nobuhle Simelane

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