‘Any kind of deal with ANC will extend its life’ – Steenhuisen

Everybody wants to dance with the Democratic Alliance (DA), but party leader John Steenhuisen has drawn a line in the sand and will not date the ruling party.

He said he’s more comfortable being an effective opposition than sleeping with the enemy. Presently parties are speed-dating one another to find a solution to the 66 hung councils. Steenhuisen’s rejection of the ANC as a coalition partner comes after similar strong negative words from ActionSA and the Inkatha Freeedom Party, the other main parties, result-wise.

Last week rumours surfaced that the ANC and the DA may end up being bedmates, perhaps not in a coalition per se, but rather forging a working agreement whereby some councils will see a DA executive with ANC oversight and vice versa in others. While the numbers make makes sense, Steenhuisen said he would never betray his voters. He likened a marriage of such convenience to what happened between the Movement for Democratic Change and Zanu-PF in Zimbabwe.

“It extended the life of a decrepit and dying liberation movement, severely harmed the opposition and today Zanu-PF are once again dominant,” he said. Steenhuisen added: “I would rather focus on working to weaken the ANC and bring them below 50% (in 2024) and then break the logjam of politics by building a new majority. “This can only happen if the ANC is brought to below 50%.”

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He said that any kind of deal with the ANC will extend its life and the ANC’s tenure in office that has already collapsed many municipalities. “The people have brought the ANC to under 50% in this election, and it’s not the DA’s job to rescue them.”

Steenhuisen did not believe working with the ANC would be well received by anyone in his party. “For the past three decades, we have focused on telling voters how important it has been to bring the ANC down to below 50%. What would it say to voters if we suddenly jumped into bed with them and helped them get back into government?” But the DA will reach out to other parties. “We will try and form stable and committed governments with opposition parties who share our values and principles,” said Steenhuisen.

He noted that where this was not possible, the DA would serve the residents and be “excellent opposition”. Political commentator Russel Crystal said: “Steenhuisen’s correct in his rejection of any cooperation with the ANC because that would give life to them. The DA would be bringing a level of competence and expertise to any council it worked in with the ANC, making its socialist programme more efficient and less corrupt.”

But, he added, Steenhuisen’s entire campaign was aimed at convincing voters that this election was about tarring roads and fixing streetlights “and not about big national issues”. “It’s contradictory for him now to say that he would not participate in creating a more stable local authority via coalition or working agreement with the ANC that would most likely bring about better practical governance at street level in the short term.”

Political scientist Ralph Mathekga said that perhaps the parties should consider finding a way to work together. “The voters did not want to give either party a strong mandate. This places the parties in a position where they have to work together, and that has to be taken as a matter of principle. “Coalitions are not created by mistake, and neither is winning an outright majority. It is the de- liberate voice of the voters. “It’s not convincing on its own, hence you are supposed to dilute it by working with other parties.” ActionSA’ s Herman Mashaba has said that he would work with anyone except the ANC. – news@citizen.co.za