The leader of South Africa’s second-largest political party will step down, raising questions over the stability of the country’s ruling coalition.
John Steenhuisen has led the pro-business Democratic Alliance since 2019, and took it into government in 2024 after the African National Congress failed to win a majority for the first time since South Africa became a democracy. But divisions within the party have widened, and Steenhuisen has faced allegations of corruption.
The DA’s presence in government helped reassure investors that South Africa would maintain broadly pro-market policies, Semafor’s Sam Mkokeli reported, but the party’s internal strife could undermine its reputation as “the responsible anchor of a fragile coalition” and dent market confidence in the country’s economic recovery.