New face of South Africa's opposition

Capitalizing on ANC failures

But politics is not just about winning, says Mr. Hughes. It's about putting up a good enough fight to change policy at the national level. If Zille's DA reaches out beyond its normal white voting base to South Africans of other races who are growing disenchanted with one-party rule, it could still have a powerful effect.

"I've known Helen a long time," says Hughes. "She's smart enough to know that the DA has a diminishing vote, a diminishing influence. So at a minimum, the first step is not just to gather up the white vote, but to expand the support base between opposition parties.

"If her vote is not just 15 percent but up to 20 or 25 percent, then she'll project a more credible party," says Hughes. "Helen's position is, 'I did it in Cape Town, I think I can do it on a national level, too.' "

Running a city like Cape Town may not seem like such a big deal. With relatively peaceful race relations, dependable shipping and tourism industries, and a landscape often compared to San Francisco or Italy's Amalfi Coast, Cape Town is a cakewalk compared with the rugby-scrum of politics in a city like Johannesburg.

But Zille's achievements in Cape Town – improved social services and roads, reduced corruption and crime – have depended on the support of a shaky seven-party coalition.

ANC stalwarts have attempted several times to topple Zille's rule by splitting up her coalition, and now that Zille has a second job – as head of DA – some of her coalition allies are starting to grumble.

Can she win over black voters?

Zille's insistence on focusing on issues such as good governance and economic liberalism make her a darling of the South African media. But the larger question is whether a battle of ideas will actually work in a political culture defined by historic injustice, racial prejudice, and loyalty to one's own ethnic roots.

"Unless they want to be a minority party forever, they have to build an interracial coalition, because you don't govern South Africa with just 10 to 12 percent of the vote," says Achille Mbembe, a political scientist at Witswatersrand University in Johannesburg.

"The DA is plagued by the question of how to be white in South Africa without apartheid," says Mr. Mbembe. "If they don't come up with an answer to this question, they'll play the role of a white trade union, always complaining."

Zille admits that the changes she wants to see in South Africa will be a "long, slow haul," but she resists pessimism.

"Look, the ANC are being racial nationalists, and the temptation is very great to do that, because it's a common thing all over the world. That is the easiest, cheapest way to win support," she says.

The only answer is to gather people who agree on broad, central issues, and build a coalition for change, she adds. "It's hard to see how that can make a difference, but over time, it can."

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