Three DA MPs who have been implicated in alleged plans to split from the party and establish a liberal party have trashed the rumours, saying it is not true and that any effort to establish an alternative to the country's largest opposition party would be doomed to failure.
Mike Waters MP, federal deputy chairperson, and Gavin Davis MP were both contacted by City Press and asked to comment on stories circulating that they, along with another MP, Michael Cardo, were exploring the possibility of a breakaway party. All three denied that they were part of any such effort.
City Press reported on Sunday that the five are in consultation with, among others, the South African Institute of Race Relations' Frans Cronjé and that they are considering asking Helen Zille to lead the new party. According to the newspaper the five — who weren't named — are disillusioned with the direction the party is taking under leader Mmusi Maimane and believe that there is a need for a "true liberal party".
"It is a total fabrication and it isn't true."
Waters told HuffPost that he is "not involved" and that he isn't aware of any such plans by anyone in the DA. "It is a total fabrication and it isn't true. These stories are being circulated to sow division in the party. I have been a member for 29 years and have invested too much to walk away, for whatever reason," Waters said.
Davis also said there is "no truth" to the story. "I have never been approached by anyone about this issue and have also not approached anyone. I did provide comment to the newspaper when they asked me about it and said as much."
According to him there is necessary and healthy tension in the DA about a range of issues, including about what liberalism means and what it should be in the DA's context.
"There are classical and social liberals, but it really isn't necessary to discern between it or to label people. As long as people subscribe to the central tenets of liberalism, which is the promotion and protection of individual rights, that's fine.
"I have never been approached by anyone about this issue and have also not approached anyone."
"There is a necessary and healthy tension in the party, there are crucial debates to be had without which I would argue the party would shrivel and die. But talk about splits and a new party? There are no facts or evidence to support that," he said.
Another MP who was linked with the rebellion, Cardo, also denied involvement. "I'm not involved in any such attempts, should they exist, and I haven't been approached. These rumours are part of a broader misreading of the DA and selective framing of the party in race terms. There is a belief that there is a progressive black caucus and a conservative, liberal white caucus. It is a simplistic, binary view."
Davis and Cardo — who authored a book about Liberal Party leader Peter Brown — were both involved in negotiating the so-called "diversity clause" which was inserted into the DA's constitution at its recent federal congress.
Phumzile van Damme, MP, told HuffPost she would be "disappointed" if the rumours were true and said if there are individuals who want to leave the party they are free to do so. She is, however, is not aware of any plans by anyone in the party to lead a breakaway. "The only information I have is what was published over the weekend."
Refiloe Nt'sekhe, DA spokesperson, dismissed the reports as "rumours and gossip".
Gareth van Onselen, analyst at the SAIRR, labelled any attempt to establish an alternative to the DA as "a terrible idea".
"It won't work and the reasons are simple: (1) the DA is liberal at its core and there is no threat to that core, and (2) recent history has shown that no party can survive as a credible alternative, not Mamphela Rampehele's efforts, not Cope nor Patricia de Lille," he said.
Some DA insiders believe the rumours are part of efforts to tarnish the names of some individuals ahead of the party's list process in preparation for next year's election.