Makashule Gana has slammed the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) after its writer punted Western Cape Premier Alan Winde to be the next Democratic Alliance (DA) leader.
Writing on Twitter on Tuesday, the DA Gauteng MPL asked IRR to form its own party.
‘Mmusi Maimane out, Alan Winde in’
Gana was reacting to an article by Hermann Pretorius, an IRR writer, published on Daily Friend on Tuesday.
The article is titled Storm Forecast: Winde, with Brighter Prospects.
Pretorius lambasts DA leader Mmusi Maimane for the party’s “worst political performance in the 2019 elections.”
He calls on Maimane to resign while making the case for Winde to take over as DA leader.
The seed of the DA’s recovery has been planted by a white man in the Western Cape.
If the party has any bottle, any mettle, any fight left at all, it will see in the leadership of Alan Winde its future as the real party for all South Africans.
Hermann Pretorius
‘You know your audience’
In a subsequent tweet, Gana suggested that IRR was deliberate in quoting the line about Winde being white in its tweet.
You know your audience Hermann, that tweet from IRR to quote the particular line was no mistake.
Makashule Gana
DA MP Cameron MacKenzie also slammed IRR. He tweeted:
Why doesnt IRR stay out of DA internal politics? Isn’t your mandate wider than creating divisions in the main opposition party?
@MmusiMaimane elected to lead this party & lead it he will, regardless of the media deflection away from #cr17leaks #GavinWatson #NHI #zondo Focus please.
Cameron MacKenzie
Pressure against Maimane
Pressure within the DA against Maimane has been building since the party’s uninspiring performance in the May elections.
More recently, links between him and controversial figures, such as former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste, have emerged.
In May, DA’s federal executive shut down talk of leadership change before the party’s 2021 elective congress.
However, it appears Maimane still faces strong opposition from within his own party.
Earlier this month, he reportedly challenged his detractors to an early congress, but the suggestion was rejected.