uMngeni mayor Chris Pappas is more than just a nice guy. He’s a roll-up-your-sleeves, get-your-hands-dirty kind of politician.
It would be an absolute shame if the DA were to lose him.
It would be a tragedy if insider talk proves true and his imminent departure is the result of friction with Dean Macpherson, also a nice person and a highly effective minister of public works and infrastructure.
But politics is not about being Mr Nice Guy. Even within the same party, leaders can find themselves dancing to different tunes.
A Pappas loss would be off-key for the community he has served and a major loss of the DA.
A fluent isiZulu speaker, Pappas personifies a youthful look for the DA and represents a new generation of politicians in step with the new leadership of Geordin Hill-Lewis.
Alongside figures like Macpherson, Solly Msimanga and Leon Schreiber, he forms part of the DA’s sharp drift away from a National party and Progressive party legacy that means little to a new generation of voters.
This is an electorate that grew up with potholes, corruption and assassinations.
It’s a different kind of struggle that demands a different kind of leadership. The ANC should take note.
Whoever follows Pappas will have big shoes to fill.
