BN Edge | GHL: coalitions, Cape Town and the DA's road to 2029 — or earlier

A week after his first election as DA leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis had a queue of rivals telling him what to do. Herman Mashaba wanted Helen Zille out of the picture, Corné Mulder warned against any deal with the ANC, and Julius Malema's lawyers were threatening Zille with court. Speaking to Alec Hogg on the day the 14-day coalition clock started, Hill-Lewis refused to negotiate through the media, but he set out the range of deals on the table, said what the DA's donors want in return, and explained why he believes the party has broken through its glass ceiling with black voters. He also said an early national election was possible from next May, promised to back Zille "to the hilt" in any court fight with the EFF, and named the tests any new metro government would have to pass.