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JOHANNESBURG. — South Africa’s biggest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, faces an implosion, media reports say. According to unnamed sources that spoke to City Press, some senior DA leaders are plotting to form a breakaway “true liberal party” which they hope will contest next year’s general elections.

Angry about the direction the party is taking under the leadership of Mmusi Maimane, the senior leaders have been holding consultations and are said to be keen on getting Western Cape Premier Helen Zille to head the new force.

City Press, which broke the story say it is aware of at least five senior and prominent MPs who are said to be involved in this new initiative.

The move comes in the wake of serious tensions over race, transformation and other policy positions.

While Maimane and his core leadership want to broaden the DA’s appeal by making it responsive to transformation and economic inequality, some party ideologues believe this stance is forcing the DA to divert from the traditional liberalism for which it has stood.

The war in the DA, and now the threat of a split, is jeopardising the party’s stated objective of increasing its support to such an extent that it can force coalition governments in various provinces.

The internecine strife comes as President Cyril Ramaphosa’s popularity is making the ANC an attractive option for supporters who had become disillusioned with the governing party during former president Jacob Zuma’s tenure. City Press can reveal that senior leaders have approached the SA Institute of Race Relations for advice on how to go about the dramatic move.

Frans Cronje, the institute’s chief executive, has confirmed three meetings which have already taken place with “like-minded people”, including liberal formations sympathetic to the cause.

Cronje advised the group that in order to make a strong impression, the new party would have to recruit “high-calibre” individuals from the liberal space.

In June, Helen Zille confirmed that she had been approached to form her own political party, but said that she declined the offer. She revealed this after she was forced to step down from all decision-making structures in the party, following a row over a series of tweets in which she endorsed aspects of colonialism.

“That party is materialising and Helen (Zille) is aware of it, because she has been approached to lead it,” said an insider close to the process.

Another senior leader confirmed that he had been approached to join the new party and that there was great unhappiness among some in the party.

Meanwhile, the DA is dismissing as “rumours and gossip” yesterday’s newspaper report that said the party was about to split. The DA said in a statement that the party was “united and ready to bring change in 2019”.

“The reports in the City Press today (yesterday) are nothing more than rumours and gossip,” the statement said, adding that the story did not name any sources. — City Press/Reuters/HR.