Politics in South Africa

 POLITICS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Are the Rats Leaving Their Sinking Ships?

A slew of MPs have crossed the floor recently � mainly to

go to the ANC and, to a lesser degree, the ID.

As Winston Churchill said, �Some men change their party

for the sake of their principles; others change their principles

for the sake of their party�.

So, floor-crosser, which one are you? Only you know your heart.

Beyers Naud� �crossed the floor� when he started the Christian

Institute in 1963 and turned his back on apartheid. He was

ostracised by his church (NGK), by his tribe (Afrikaner) and by his

strongest supporter, Die Broederbond. Imagine turning your back

at 48 on everything you�ve held near and dear to you � that

takes courage. That takes a serious set of principles.

For those of you who have left your ship and bailed on your mates

because the waters are stormy; shame on you. Your principles

have been tested and they�ve come up wanting, haven�t they?

Don�t kid yourself; your new bed-fellows won�t stand for your

filibustering and �I�ll change the system from within� attitude.

They�re more likely to take on Benjamin Disraeli�s view,

�Damn your principles! Stick to your party!�

This floor crossing should be ringing alarm bells for the party

strategists; particularly the DA and IFP. If you read my last article,

you know my opinion on this � if the DA doesn�t change the colour

of its top leadership our new official opposition will be the ID.

The IFP is a spent force. It is time to let the dinosaurs go and

revitalise the party with young Turks who are positively proactive

(this means no violence, please) and not reactive.

Here�s the last word on floor crossing

In 1920 when a fellow Liberal MP crossed the floor to join the

ailing Socialist Party, Churchill remarked,

�It is the only time I�ve ever seen a rat swimming towards a sinking ship.�