Rarely, if ever, in the past 26 years has the ANC majority in parliament voted in support of an opposition proposal or motion. Always the response has been to close ranks and oppose, regardless of the merits of the issue. Party first, in other words.

The best example of this is the successive votes of the ANC majority in support of then president Jacob Zuma over a period of almost 10 years. Regardless of the facts, if the DA or any of its previous incarnations made the proposal, it was to be opposed. So Zuma, who is accused of indulging on the spoils of office, squandering and facilitating corruption, survived no-confidence vote after no-confidence vote...