DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has vowed to stand his ground ahead of what is expected to be one of the most combustible federal council meetings in the party’s recent history, insisting he has no regrets about the controversial decisions that have plunged the official opposition into weeks of internal turmoil.Speaking to the Sunday Times during a campaign tour in Johannesburg with former federal council chair Helen Zille, Hill-Lewis acknowledged that his demotion of former party leader John Steenhuisen and the growing controversy over former DA leader Tony Leon’s Resolve Communications would dominate Saturday’s federal council meeting at the party’s Nkululeko House headquarters.“I expect Resolve Communications will be discussed … I think it was the right decision for the party. I’ll defend it to anyone,” Hill-Lewis said.The meeting is the first since Hill-Lewis dramatically reshuffled the DA’s executive following his election as party leader, a shake-up that saw his long-time ally and predecessor, Steenhuisen, stripped of the influential agriculture ministry and reassigned as deputy minister of trade, industry & competition.Saturday’s meeting is expected to test whether Hill-Lewis can consolidate his authority after a bruising first few weeks as DA leader.His decision to demote Steenhuisen has exposed deep divisions inside the DA, with senior figures accusing the new leadership of sidelining one of the party’s longest-serving leaders without meaningful consultation.Steenhuisen broke ranks in an explosive interview with News24 after his removal, accusing Hill-Lewis of betraying him after allegedly assuring him that his cabinet position would remain secure once he stepped down as party leader.He claimed the new leadership had given his “head to a baying mob” in an effort to appease conservative elements within the party and suggested external interests were influencing decisions at the top.Steenhuisen also reignited controversy around Resolve Communications, the public relations firm chaired by Leon, by alleging that DA ministers serving in the government of national unity had been placed under pressure to meet the company’s clients. Leon and Resolve have strongly denied the allegations.The controversy escalated after the Sunday Times revealed allegations that Leon had sought to secure business for Resolve from DA-run municipalities.A former senior City of Tshwane official alleged in an affidavit submitted to the public protector that Leon met then mayor Solly Msimanga in 2017 to discuss how Resolve could obtain work from the metro. The affidavit forms part of ActionSA’s complaint calling for an investigation into Steenhuisen’s claims.Former DA leader Mmusi Maimane has also alleged that Leon approached then Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba in 2016, seeking to establish a business relationship between Resolve and the city, an overture Mashaba is said to have rejected.Resolve also performed communications work for the City of Cape Town during its 2018 drought crisis, although the municipality has since said that it no longer uses the firm.The dispute has fuelled anger among sections of the DA caucus.Party insiders say many MPs remain furious about the manner in which Steenhuisen was removed, arguing that he was blindsided after news of his demotion first emerged in the Afrikaans media.The backlash intensified after DA MP Emma Powell posted a scathing message on the parliamentary caucus WhatsApp group condemning the decision, the Sunday Times reported. “The expediency and sheer scale of betrayal here is head-spinning,” Powell wrote. She said Steenhuisen had “given the best years of his life” to the DA and accused the leadership of reneging on commitments made when he agreed to step down as party leader.“God knows he made mistakes, and I personally went to war with him on policy issues, but he stuck to his end of the bargain and did what was asked of him,” she wrote.Sources said Powell’s intervention reflected wider frustrations among MPs who believed the reshuffle had been handled poorly.Hill-Lewis, however, dismissed suggestions that his leadership was facing a serious revolt, saying the “rumours” were “corridor politics” that involved “two or three people in the caucus”. Despite weeks of negative headlines, Hill-Lewis said the DA remained focused on the local government elections, arguing that voters were far more concerned about collapsing municipalities than internal party disputes.“I’m not concerned... I think voters in South Africa are overwhelmingly focused on what is going to get these major metros working again, particularly here in Gauteng,” he said. “This is the centre of the political debate right now. Every time I’m here, I find myself even more shocked at how deeply broken things are.“I think the vast majority of the public sees the absolute night-and-day difference between a city that is moving forward — not to say it has solved every problem, because it hasn’t — and cities that are simply moving backwards.“They understand that’s not a matter of luck. It’s about leadership. That is going to be the biggest driver of the electoral outcome in November.”Hill-Lewis also hit back at President Cyril Ramaphosa after the president likened Resolve Communications’ interactions with DA ministers to state capture. “The president’s description is outrageous. That is simply political sensationalism from the president and our opponents,” he said.