Like the old people used to say: “ My woorde was skaars koud.”
Last week I wrote about my, and everyone else’s, surprise at the return of Helen Zille into a leadership position in the DA.
Her reluctance to fade away quietly was sure to disturb the relative peace in the party.
I predicted fireworks as she and then DA leader Mmusi Maimane tried to work together to steer the opposition party forward and towards the next elections.
That was printed last Tuesday.
The very next day, the fireworks I was expecting had grown into colossal explosions, leaving the party bleeding and limping to the polls.
Not only did Maimane resign as MP and party leader, but he resigned his entire DA membership, which is telling of his experience at the helm.
This was clearly the actions of a man who no longer shared the vision of the organisation he was a member of, never mind heading up.
There are two big questions that need answering now.
Firstly, has the DA’s self-inflicted wounds made it injured prey that’s being circled by predators ready to pounce and tear it to shreds at the polls come next elections?
And what is the next step for the charismatic Maimane, who can comfortably claim to have grown the DA into the hearts of black voters that would not have done so under Zille?
He has been sidestepping questions about starting his own political party, which means that it’s definitely something that’s on his mind.
And I do believe that he stands a chance of making a success of it.
He would end up being the intellectual antidote to the EFF’s youthful, but populist exuberance without substance.
A young politician, seemingly with a conscience, with a vision of what the country could be and who understands the fears and expectations of black and white alike.
I think a new, Maimane-led party could be very attractive to South Africa’s young electorate and therefore a great threat to the likes of Julius Malema.
It’s probably why Malema was one of the first to publicly offer Maimane sweet words of consolation last week.
Maimane would be a massive boost for the EFF, but it would leave him with many ethical and moral dilemmas, which I don’t think he’s prepared to step into.
Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC could also be something that Maimane could consider and I’m sure there’s already an offer on the table.
In that case, Maimane’s biggest challenge will be having to accept that he will no longer be calling the shots as the leader.
But then some would argue that he wasn’t really calling the shots in the DA anyway.
Anyway, having opted for stale, antiquated thinking that’s out of touch with the times, instead of fresh and young energy that reflects the nation’s hopes dreams, the biggest loser here is without a doubt, the DA.