De Lille affair a symptom of the DA at war with itself
The whole affair which brought DA Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille to the edge of being ousted has seriously damaged the DA.
EFF South Africa tweeted these images on 11 April 2018 featuring Patricia de Lille attending the EFF’s memorial service for Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in Brandfort, Free State.
Whether or not Patricia de Lille is fired by the DA today, there are two things which are clear. First, she will not go quietly. And second, the whole affair which brought her to the edge of being ousted has seriously damaged the party.
It is plain the DA leadership does not want her. The reasons for that are not clear and the accusations which have been levelled against her, as justification for the moves to purge her, are far from being proven.
De Lille, for her part, is skilled at muddying both the political waters and those of public opinion, by airing allegations of racism and sexism as reasons the party supposedly wants to see the back of her. Again, her version is as shakily supported as the one proffered by her opponents.
What will her departure signal for the DA in its attempts to hold on to the Western Cape in the 2019 polls? And will the hugely significant coloured voting bloc still throw in its lot with the DA?
Outside that province, the De Lille affair has damaged the DA because it is a symptom of a party at war with itself.
And that bodes ill for it nationally next year.
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