GAYTON MCKENZIE: Long live the GNU

There were a lot of emotions after the DA voted against the finance minister’s budget last week. Many, including me, called for the DA to walk out of the government of national unity (GNU), or for the president to remove it through a cabinet reshuffle.

The same fate would then have to befall the Freedom Front Plus (FF+). Ninety-three MPs would instantly no longer be part of the GNU. That would allow President Cyril Ramaphosa to bring in ActionSA and Build One SA (Bosa), parties that saved the government by voting in favour of the budget.

However, as much as I personally might not like it, the fact is the GNU would be a shadow of its former self without the DA’s 87 seats and the FF+’s six, and we would then have to find a way to govern with a majority of just a handful of seats.

The president might want to throw the dice and see if he can avoid losing a motion of no confidence. But he would stand a good chance of becoming the first democratic president to suffer such an indignity, and once voted out there would be no coming back.

You can’t leave the fate of your government to chance, and numbers don’t care how angry you are. Anything can happen on the day of a motion of no confidence. A handful of MPs not being in the National Assembly could shift the outcome, and no-one wants to run a country knowing they have to rely on luck to remain president.

Those of us who say the DA should be removed from the GNU should be honest about what we are really saying, which is that we would be willing to turn to the EFF to bolster our numbers. That may suit those who are calling for just this change, but at the very least we should be upfront about it.

No-one has suffered more propaganda insults and lies at the hands of the DA than myself and the Patriotic Alliance (PA). We represent too much of a threat to the DA in the Western Cape and Cape Town for it to treat us honestly and fairly. However, I don’t believe it will be good for the country for us to see the DA out of the GNU, as much as we may be angry at its lies and manipulation. Emotions come and go, but the numbers in parliament will not change again until 2029.

Coalitions are a lot like marriages. If you’re in a marriage where both sides are benefiting because they’re a “power couple” who both have good incomes, together they may be able to live in a mansion that neither would be able to afford on their own. They might be willing to put up with a lot more from each other because of the good life they lead, one they otherwise not have.

However, eventually any person will be willing to walk away from a marriage if being together becomes unbearable. The DA has said it is not ready to walk away yet. I feel nothing for the DA, but I know it will hurt the country it is thrown out of the GNU. We have the chance with this GNU to fix this country and avoid having to live in a one-bedroom flat. We can build a mansion and all live in it.

That has been the hope of the country since this GNU was born, and we need to start doing more to reform and fix the country. Sure, there’s a chance that might not happen under this GNU, but it’s still the best chance we have to try. We can’t afford to be fighting each other right now either, because US President Donald Trump has SA in his crosshairs, and now is the time to stick together as a country.

Most people in SA really want this GNU to work. But we will need to make room for Bosa and ActionSA if they want to be part of it, because we can benefit from the leadership of people like Mmusi Maimane and Athol Trollip in the executive. We also can’t abandon them after they came through for us on the budget.

Yes, we may be emotional now. But ups and downs in coalitions are normal in democracies all over the world, and other countries have found ways to make it work between parties that are wildly different, by putting the growth of the country first.

The DA has had a serious wake-up call — it is not in any position to call all the shots. It has hopefully learnt that it should have avoided using a word like “never” in relation to the VAT hike, and it should have recognised the ANC’s willingness to talk and compromise on the issue.

The finance minister came down from a VAT increase of two full percentage points to two half points, which the DA never recognised as evidence that the ANC is learning how to govern, with compromise, in a coalition.

They look like fools now, because they’re suddenly willing to trade on numerous issues to allow the VAT hike to stay in place, which is a long way from the people who were so quick to say “never” to “any” VAT hike. Never say never. Not in politics.

The DA has hopefully learnt that this was not the way to approach the issue. The ANC will hopefully also be seeing the reality that governing the country without the support of the second-largest party is also an option of last resort.

All things considered, we are probably not there yet. I guess all that remains to say is: long live the GNU!

• McKenzie is leader of the PA.