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Cape Town - Dr Wilmot James has entered the fray and joined Mmusi Maimane in the ring in what is being described as a David and Goliath contest.
The question is, who is David and who Goliath?
James confirmed his candidature on Friday morning, ending two weeks of conjecture.
Minutes after James made his announcement, the Maimane camp issued a statement spelling out his vision.
James calls his vision “Ready to govern” and Maimane his “Believe in tomorrow”. Maimane’s campaign for Gauteng in last year’s election, which cost the DA millions, was called “Believe”.
James told Netwerk24 that Maimane is part of an “ongoing process which has built his brand”.
“He is an excellent competitor. It will take a fight. I will have to compete hard to advance my cause."
James said he had a strong team supporting him and had gauged opinion in the party, which led him to believe he could compete strongly for the leadership position at the party's federal congress, to be held on May 9 and 10.
“But yes, it is a bit like the David and Goliath story. Goliath was weighed down by the heavy weaponry he carried. He was very good in a normal battle. But David understood that his strength was nimbleness and he knew where the weaknesses were.”
Maimane welcomed the candidacy of James. “Like they say: May the best man win.”
Asked about the David and Goliath remark by James, he said: “He must not mislead voters.”
Maimane explained that James has had a long career in the DA and plays a senior role. Maimane pointed out that he is James’s deputy federal chair.
Maimane said the election was important and had to be about how South Africa should be taken forward.
Word from the Maimane camp earlier this week was that their campaign was going to be about who the best person was.
James said the most important thing to grow a party is the ability to talk to voters about issues important to them.
“To do that you have to understand who the voters are. You must have empathy for where they are coming from and you must have the ability feel their hopes and pain. I have been in that world and enough others to know what is worrying South Africans and how families are handling the political and economic pressures. So I will be able to talk to them.”
Nominations for leadership positions closed on Thursday at 17:00.
