We all love a mass debate, and this showdown for DA supremacy promises to be a feisty one.

In one corner we have Mmusi Maimane, the man who won many admirers when he laid a beatdown on Jacob Zuma in parliament and has been touted as the frontrunner for the DA leadership.

In the other corner we have Wilmot James, currently serving as the DA’s Shadow Minister of Trade and Industry and a relative unknown to those who don’t pay politics much attention.

The debate will take place on Monday evening, and here’s an analysis from City Press:

What do they have to offer or stand to gain? Ladies say Maimane is easy on the eye, so Womenville can be expected to be glued to the small screen in droves. As for James, his political prose and eloquence might be easy on the ear, but this is TV … Maimane himself is a fine orator. Some say he can make even the traffic report sound compelling.

As for the gains, the party certainly has been angling for this type of debate for years – against an ANC leader though. Pitting brother against brother might be good for audience ratings, but for the party … the jury is out.

Let’s hope they keep it clean and above board. No one likes to see politicians hurling insults at each other and acting the fool, we’ve had our fill of that during the State of the Nation fiasco anyway…

Details on exactly what time and channel the debate will take place on remain sketchy. We’ll let you know when we do.

[source:citypress]