“The DA whines more about its coalition partners than it does the ANC.”
This is according to former DA MP Phumzile van Damme, who this week weighed in on the party blaming its coalition collapse on “opportunistic small parties”.
DA MP Leon Schreiber claimed ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba abused the removal of DA Speaker Vasco Da Gama to manufacture a scheme to reallocate positions that violated trust in the DA-led coalition deal.
“They likely did this purely to spite the DA, but all they may achieve is to hand Joburg to the ANC,” Schreiber said.
“This, compounded by the betrayal of the PA who used the gap created by ActionSA, is what you get from opportunistic small parties who are obsessed with fighting the DA rather than fixing what the ANC broke.”
Weighing in on Schreiber's claim, Van Damme sarcastically said the DA should “keep whining and squabbling” at every opportunity because it was winning over the public.
“These 'opportunistic smaller parties'. Speak of dirt parties wanting to have a say in coalitions. Criticising you. The insolence! You don’t need them. Go it on your own, Champs. Keep whining and squabbling with them every opportunity you get, the public loves to see it,” she said.
Van Damme gave these smaller parties the thumbs up for continuing to vote with the DA, despite how it views them as a coalition partner.
“I‘ve got to say, I do admire these 'opportunistic smaller parties' for continuing to vote with the DA when they talk like this about them as coalition parties. Small nothings who must just do as they are told. Greater people than I am,” she said.
She also criticised her former party for whining more about its coalition partners than it does the ruling party.
“You want to get a sense of the toxicity of the DA’s internal culture? Ask its coalition partners. See the interactions? The baaskap cult mentality? (It wasn’t always like this, though, there was a little more EQ back then)” she said.
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