Since its founding in 1994, the FF Plus has been seen as a bastion of white Afrikanerdom. Which is why the Cape Flats township of Gugulethu is perhaps one of the last places you’d expect to find the party’s campaign posters — let alone a ward candidate standing in the November 4 local government elections.
Yet there is Mark Mutlane, a Gugulethu resident trying to “change the community using the FF Plus as a vehicle”.
Mutlane is no political newbie — he’s been active in several labour unions over the years — but this is his first foray into party politics. It’s a decision driven, in part, by disillusionment.
“The ANC has been here [in Gugulethu] for as long as we can remember,” Mutlane tells the FM, “[but] there have not been any positive changes. When COPE came in, we had hope, but that kind of fizzled away.”
So why the FF Plus? Mutlane says he was attracted by the party’s Christian values. That and the performance of Pieter Groenewald as minister of correctional services. “That showed me that this is a party of people who have integrity. This is a party of people who have principles and honest values,” he says.
“For me, it was just something I had to do. It was either I go with the FF Plus or I leave politics altogether.”
Groenewald has become something of a drawcard for the FF Plus, says elections analyst Wayne Sussman. “He’s about law and order; he’s a straightforward guy and he connects well with people,” Sussman tells the FM. “It’s clear that [party leader] Corné Mulder has tried to remodel the FF Plus as a Christian-based conservative party that appeals to all race groups rather than just Afrikaners.”
As FF Plus head of elections Wouter Wessels tells it, support from different communities is nothing new. “We’ve had candidates from various communities as far back as 2016 … every election I hear the same. We are a growing party, a growing alternative,” he says. “We’re a party that stands for certain values, ideology, policy directives and directions, and people who associate with that join the party regardless of skin colour.”
To that end, he says the party has in the past lured members from the EFF, the DA, ActionSA and the IFP. “We won’t exclude them, but we do make very sure that they understand what we stand for and that they will promote those values,” says Wessels. “It’s about contributing to a more representative government where there’s not one majority view.”
Coalition country
In 2021, the FF Plus won just under 3% of the vote across the Western Cape, claiming 34 seats and governing several municipalities in coalition with other parties. It’s prepared for more of the same.
Wessels is loath to talk about specifics ahead of the election. “You must look at the results and then make a decision based on what is in the best interest of your electorate,” he says.
But the party is clear who it won’t work with: the EFF and MK. Instead, “they want to position themselves as a reliable partner for the DA”, according to Sussman.
Wessels concurs: “We do believe that we have opposing views from the DA, but we do have common interests and common values as well, and we are natural partners.”
He’s upbeat about coalition government generally, arguing that power sharing and better decision-making can benefit the community. It’s about finding a “common shared programme” of government, he adds. “The advantage of multiparty governments is that they minimise the abuse of power while better representing the values and schools of thought of the general public, including minority groups.”
The party does, however, recognise the inherent instability of coalition governments, devoting an entire section of its manifesto to the issue. It refers specifically to an agreed-upon governance model to mitigate differences of opinion, and the need for “certainty regarding the coalition government’s negotiated positions on aspects such as appointments, budgets, rates and taxes, and spatial development”.
Community focus
When it comes to Cape Town, the FF Plus is determined to grow the four seats it won in 2021 come November. Sussman, for one, sees it as a threat to the DA, particularly in the northern suburbs, while the Patriotic Alliance (PA) is a threat on the Cape Flats. “The FF Plus and the PA remain the [DA’s] biggest threats,” he says, though he thinks they’re unlikely to knock the DA from its majority in the metro.
Still, as part of its strategy for growth, the FF Plus is focusing on communities, says Pieter Jansen van Vuuren, a party councillor and campaign manager for Erika Botha-Rossouw, the FF Plus mayoral candidate for Cape Town. This is why the party is hoping to break ground in such areas as Gugulethu.
“We are a party for all people. The only important thing is that we will not let go of our values,” he says. “We should [be given] a chance because we can change things. We have the knowledge to change things, and we have the drive to do it. Our voters must get back to their values, and they must take their power back.”
Wessels echoes the sentiment. “We have a workable plan. We have a manifesto that’s not just empty promises. It can improve [the situation] and will stop decay, and will ensure that communities are placed first, that municipalities work for their residents, that officials are appointed on merit, and that rates and taxes also work for those who pay them.
“I think people are realising this and hopefully this election will show it even more, that communities can vote for the parties that they support … That those parties can be [their] voice in councils. With an election, the scoreboard is equal between all parties, and you can make the party of your choice stronger.”
Wessels believes the FF Plus is offering a solid team of candidates in Cape Town who will help to form a council that can “bring efficient oversight but also contribute to communities”.
Mutlane is among that cohort. He aims to tap into the crucial issues facing the community in his area in his bid to win support and improve conditions in his ward. “The biggest challenge that Gugulethu has is unemployment,” he says. “Unemployment ultimately escalates to higher crime levels.”
If he wins in November, he wants to bring economic development to his community — specifically by helping entrepreneurs formalise their businesses so they can employ people and benefit from city programmes. The election, he believes, is just the vehicle for this change.
“People are very excited at the prospect of the DA losing the majority because what we’ve observed in Cape Town is that we have not benefited much,” he says.
Realistically, though, while the FF Plus may just alter the balance of power in Cape Town, it’s unlikely to make much of a dent in Gugulethu. The ANC won the ward with more than 70% of the vote in 2021, while the EFF got just over 14% and the DA about 4%. It would be a “major upset” if the party were to make serious inroads, says Sussman.
Nonetheless, after a random draw by the Electoral Commission of South Africa on September 23, the party will appear at the top of the ballot paper come November. FF Plus leaders will be hoping this is an omen as they prepare for the final few weeks of campaigning.
