DA and MK Party to hold coalition talks after Hill-Lewis approaches Zuma - IOL

The DA and MK Party (MKP) are set to hold coalition discussions within the next 48 hours after DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis formally approached former president Jacob Zuma to initiate talks, Advocate Dali Mpofu has confirmed.

The DA and MK Party (MKP) are set to hold coalition discussions within the next 48 hours after DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis formally approached former president Jacob Zuma to initiate talks, Advocate Dali Mpofu has confirmed.

Mpofu, the MKP’s national negotiator, told SABC News on Wednesday that the party had accepted the DA’s invitation, opening the door to discussions between political rivals whose differences have previously appeared to rule out cooperation.

“I can confirm that the DA has reached out. Their leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis, wrote a letter to President Zuma inviting discussions on coalitions,” Mpofu said.

He confirmed that the MKP’s secretary-general had responded to the letter and accepted the invitation.

“We've accepted that invitation in line with what I've just said, that we'll speak to anybody,” he said, adding that the meeting could take place within the next 48 hours.

Mpofu said the MKP would approach the engagement with the DA in the same open manner as its discussions with other political parties.

The proposed meeting marks a notable development given the DA’s previous opposition to negotiating or entering into partnerships with the MKP or the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in key municipalities, including Johannesburg, and in KwaZulu-Natal.

Asked whether the two parties could find common ground despite their sharply contrasting political positions, Mpofu suggested that circumstances had changed.

He pointed to the DA’s previous Moonshot Pact, which was built around excluding coalition discussions with both the MKP and EFF.

“You'll remember that the so-called Moonshot Pact, everyone has forgotten about that now, since [John] Steenhuisen went to the moon with it,” Mpofu said.

He argued that the DA’s decision to approach both parties under its new leadership carried an important message about the changing dynamics of coalition politics.

“The fact that they've reached out to us and the fact that we've accepted the invitation means that both parties feel that there might be common ground,” he said.

However, Mpofu cautioned against expecting extensive agreement between the parties, acknowledging their ideological and political differences.

“I doubt” that the common ground would be as significant as that between the MKP and EFF, he said, but added that overlapping constituencies and shared municipal interests could provide room for cooperation.