XOLISA PHILLIP: Hard-nosed mayor Athol Trollip risks losing partners
Pieter Mulder, the former Freedom Front Plus leader, once accused Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Athol Trollip and the DA of being seized by "British colonial supremacy". That was more than six years ago, when Trollip — who in 2011 was DA leader in the Eastern Cape and in Parliament — sent out an e-mail in error in which he likened the national chairman of a ratepayers’ association to an "a**hole" and "idiot". It gets better. In the same e-mail, Trollip accused Afrikaans political parties of having Nazi tendencies — or something to that effect. This line in the e-mail prompted Mulder’s angry retort. So indignant was Mulder that he accused Trollip of hate speech. There was talk of "consulting our lawyers", but not much came of that. It was a fascinating political fight to witness. However, it fizzled as quickly as it had flared up. Jaap Kelder, the intended recipient of the e-mail, had raised Trollip’s ire by wagging his finger at Afrikaners who, to paraphrase his words, had turned their b...
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