KEY POINTS:
The new leader of South Africa's official opposition knows that chances of a white person ever again leading the mainly black country, still traumatised by centuries of institutionalised segregation, are remote.
And so Helen Zille seems to have set herself a modest but crucial ambition: to bolster the opposition and curb the arrogance of the ruling African National Congress ahead of presidential elections due in 2009.
"My ambition is not to occupy the national presidential office but to see South Africa grow as a democracy," said Zille, the mayor of Cape Town, after her weekend election to succeed Tony Leon as leader of the Democratic Alliance. "That means growing the opposition."
But how does she achieve that in a country still generally suspicious of white people, 13 years after the dismantling of apartheid and the election of Nelson Mandela? Judging by the way she has repelled the ANC's unrelenting attempts to oust her as mayor since her election with a razor-thin majority last year, Zille's determination is not in doubt.
Winning black votes is central to her goal, although Zille, a former journalist, believes this can be done by promoting values that appeal to all.
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely. We have seen that in Zimbabwe."
Although the alliance is South Africa's largest opposition party, it is still viewed as a hub for South Africa's five million whites.
While Leon oversaw substantial growth of the party in his 13 years at the helm, the conventional wisdom is that the alliance will never pose a serious threat to President Thabo Mbeki's ANC unless it makes serious inroads into the black voting population.
"She might not clinch the ultimate prize. But her charisma might attract many more black faces into the Democratic Alliance," said political scientist Raphael Muchingi.
With the notable exception of Joe Sere-mane, the alliance's national chairman, who was soundly beaten in the party's presidential election by Zille, the party's leadership remains predominantly white.
But Zille, a 56-year-old mother of two, does not believe that more black faces in the party leadership equals more black votes.
Apart from wanting to promote policies that will lead to better education and health for all South Africans, a better criminal justice system to fight rampant crime, and increased economic growth to create jobs, Zille wants to see an end to what she calls the nauseating obsession with race.
"We need to look at the value of people and promote our individual competencies instead of putting emphasis on people's skin colour," she says. "We need to create a South Africa for everyone who lives in it, regardlessof their pigmentation."
In Cape Town, she has fended off the ANC's attempts to oust her by weaving strategic coalitions with other smaller opposition parties. The ANC, which wants to control all key cities, seems to have given up trying to get rid of her.
She intends to use the coalition strategy in her new role: "Coalitions and alliances are the future of politics. That is the way of politics in complex societies like ours."
But Zille rules out any coalitions with the ANC, and frowns upon existing alliance-ANC coalitions in some municipal areas.
"I want to build a strong opposition coalition against the ANC at all levels of governance to dilute its power. That's is why I won't get into bed with the ANC," she said.
Perhaps in a sign of political maturity on a continent where opposition leaders are often branded "enemies of the state" and are regularly persecuted by incumbents, Mbeki called Zille to congratulate her on her election.
He has also invited her for an initial meeting at the Union Buildings where he has his office, and the two are due to meet soon. But Zille knows that very soon the gloves will be off.
- INDEPENDENT
