DA is paying for its naivete

Marry in haste, repent at leisure. The DA is learning the hard way that before rushing into nuptials with the ruling party, it should have remembered the other meaning of the acronym ANC – an antenuptial contract.

- William Saunderson-Meyer

In its haste to join the government of national unity (GNU), the DA failed to take the precaution of a tightly written contract to govern the terms of the union. Instead, when President Cyril Ramaphosa leered wolfishly at his intended and growled, "Trust me, baby!" John Steenhuisen, who had long lacked romance in his life, fell over himself to say: "I do!"

Now, with SA buffeted by challenges, the DA is paying a high price for its naivete. The cost of the GNU has been disillusionment among a key bloc of its traditional voters.

Since entering into the GNU, there have been at least three issues on which the DA has embraced the role of a mid-20th century subservient little woman in the kitchen to the paternalistic head of the household, the ANC. These were "red line" non-negotiables upon which the DA's participation in the GNU would depend.

The first was the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act. When Ramaphosa called the DA's bluff and told them that the door was open for them to leave, they folded.