South Africa's potential kingmakers struggle with white image

CAPE TOWN - Looking out of his window at Cape Town's False Bay, Nick Searra acknowledges that things do work better in South Africa's second biggest city, a stronghold of the opposition Democratic Alliance .

Despite their own lacklustre performance, an improvement of just one percentage point from the last vote in 2019, the DA and Steenhuisen suddenly find themselves in an unprecedented position. Yet in a country with a painful history of codified racism - apartheid - where white South Africans make up just 7% of the population, the DA is struggling to shake off an image as a party of rich whites and prove it reflects the make-up and aspirations of all.Steenhuisen, a champion of economic liberalism, has vowed to end a racial quota system for employers established by the ANC to redress decades of apartheid discrimination and wants to loosen labour laws.

According to one opinion survey, Western Cape and Cape Town are viewed as by far South Africa's best governed province and major city. "Our support among Black voters is on an upward trajectory," he said, claiming the party had improved its scores in predominately Black areas in Wednesday's election. Elected to parliament in 2014 and made the party's national spokesperson, she was among a crop of young Black lawmakers - including a new national leader, Mmusi Maimane - focused on making the DA more inclusive.

Maimane, the DA's first Black leader, resigned, accusing some within the party of undermining his efforts to court Black voters. He was replaced by Steenhuisen.

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