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Steenhuisen sounds alarm as Patriotic Alliance makes gains in the Western Cape
A warning sign in the DA’s strongest province
For years, the Western Cape has been the Democratic Alliance’s political stronghold. That is why the results of the latest by-elections have landed so sharply within the party.
After losing two wards in George this week, DA leader John Steenhuisen publicly acknowledged what many party insiders have been quietly debating. Something is shifting on the ground in parts of the province, and the DA needs to understand why.
Speaking in Cape Town during a briefing with parliamentary journalists, Steenhuisen said the rise of the Patriotic Alliance in the Western Cape is deeply concerning, particularly because the pattern is not repeating itself elsewhere in the country.
Why the Western Cape feels different
What makes the situation uncomfortable for the DA is that it governs the province and many of its municipalities. Yet voters in certain areas are still choosing an alternative.
Steenhuisen pointed to a clear geographic trend. The PA’s growth appears strongest in the more rural eastern and western parts of the Western Cape, rather than in major metros. According to him, the party has not yet broken through in urban centres, but its steady gains outside the cities cannot be ignored.
This contrasts sharply with outcomes in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape, where the DA has managed to hold off similar advances by the PA. That difference has raised difficult questions within the party about whether local issues, service delivery frustrations, or voter sentiment are being underestimated in rural communities.
Internal pressure and a call for answers
The DA leader confirmed that the party’s Federal Executive will now formally interrogate the Western Cape losses. The aim is to understand why wards are being lost in areas where the DA governs and why voters are drifting towards smaller parties.
There is also concern about what this trend could mean for other municipalities in the province’s east and west regions. Steenhuisen warned that some DA-run councils could be at risk if the party fails to respond quickly and convincingly.
On social media, the reaction has been mixed. Some DA supporters have urged the party to reconnect with grassroots voters and address local service delivery complaints more directly. Others have framed the PA’s success as a protest vote rather than a long-term realignment. PA supporters, meanwhile, have celebrated the results as proof that the party is gaining national traction.
By-elections are not the full story, Steenhuisen says
Despite the setback, Steenhuisen struck a cautious but optimistic tone. He reminded observers that by-elections often reflect hyperlocal dynamics rather than broader national sentiment. Smaller parties can also pour resources into a single ward in a way that is not always possible during national elections.
He also highlighted that, taken as a whole, the Democratic Alliance has performed strongly in by-elections across the country in recent years. According to party data, the DA remains the fastest-growing party in the by-election results nationwide.
Still, Steenhuisen was clear that the Western Cape losses cannot be brushed aside. As both party leader and Minister of Agriculture, he said it would be a failure of leadership not to confront why voters in parts of the province are turning to parties like the PA.
A moment of reckoning for the DA
The Western Cape has long been central to the DA’s identity and electoral credibility. Losing ground there, even in isolated wards, carries symbolic weight.
Whether this moment becomes a temporary wobble or a warning sign of deeper voter dissatisfaction will depend on how seriously the party engages with the message coming from rural communities. For now, Steenhuisen has put the issue firmly on the table. The next moves will matter far beyond two wards in George.
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Source: IOL
Featured Image: Inside Politic
