The Vryheidsfront Plus was formed with a single aim in mind - to establish self-determination for minorities in general, and Afrikaners in particular.

Over its history, they have managed to avoid scandals for corruption, not by suppressing them as the DA has, but by dealing with them directly and effectively.

But they have been unable to inject new blood into the leadership, and have consistently pursued places in national government whenever the opportunity presented itself, with no tangible gains to show for it.

The VF+ had a notable role in Jacob Zuma's cabinet from 2009 to 2014, with Pieter Mulder serving as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. This has significantly weakened the party’s credibility as a serious critic, and regardless of party spokesmen’s defences, the general public did not and do not approve of such moves.

But the GNU has truly frustrated not just the party’s lay supporters, but members too.

After the recent tussle over the national budget, in which VAT was committed to a 2% point hike over the next couple of years, the DA and VF+ were entirely sidelined, and their refusal to endorse the profligate budget proposed by the ANC has led to threats by several ANC members to expel the DA from the coalition.

But no such threats were levelled at the VF+. This is because as a party, they simply do not matter to national politics - they are far too small.

However, the permanent leadership clique in the party, which has been in control since the founding of the organisation over 30 years ago, has refused to consider leaving. In private, several have shown that they understand that remaining in the GNU will hurt the party’s performance in the 2026/27 local elections, but pressure from Pieter Groenewald and Wouter Wessels, who both hold considerable clout in the northern factions, has meant that the party is locked in.

But they are not alone in this. Dr Corné Mulder, despite his reservations, has insisted that the party is in the ruling coalition out of principle:

“The Freedom Front Plus did not join the GNU to gain some title or position. Its continued participation in the GNU is based solely on the question of whether it benefits Afrikaners and other minorities in South Africa or not.”

But what concessions have they managed to extract? I cannot think of a single one. In fact, aside from a rather superficial and symbolic concession extracted at the provincial level in the Northern Cape, in which the ANC recognised the legality of Orania’s continued existence and conceded a portfolio committee position in exchange for a confidence-and-supply arrangement to shore up their bare 50% of the provincial legislature, there really is nothing in this for the VF+ at all.

But the above extract of the party’s official statement on the GNU seems all too defensive. No major publication has so far accused them of staying in the GNU for the sake of career perks, but they felt the need to bat off this criticism anyway.

Pieter Groenewald’s continued position as the Minister of Correctional Services was a key bargaining chip behind Muulder’s recent accession to the leadership, but any reason for preserving this state of affairs is utterly invisible, besides Groenewald’s personal gain.

Whether or not Groenewald is doing a good job is almost besides the point - it is small potatoes, and will not get anyone any more votes. It is a marginal cabinet position with no fanfare and no opportunity for subverting the ANC’s rotten system (unlike those positions handed to the DA, which they fail to use for that purpose).

The key reason this publication chose to endorse Dr Mulder as leader during the recent national reorganisation was due to the possibility it opened up of the party leaving the GNU and becoming a viable opposition.

It has long been our position that this will be the only means for the party to gain credibility as a staunch and serious opposition party, not just to the national administration, but to the political system as a whole.

Instead, they insist on sitting in the corner watching the ANC vandalise the furniture and tutting.

The DA, as malignant as many of their progressive ideals are, have at least a role to play - being a doorstop against an ANC reunification coalition (EFF/MK) buys time for civic society and private individuals to prepare for the inevitable deluge that will follow when Ramaphosa loses the leadership, and later, when the fiscal cliff finally hits and the state runs out of money.

The VF+, in backing Cape independence, offered their voters in the Western Cape a real and meaningful alternative, and so when the 30% bump the party received after Mmusi Maimane’s last run for the DA evaporated, the Cape retained their new converts.

Their conflict with the DA in the local coalitions in the province over DA corruption and mistreatement of their coalition partners (including working with the ANC to circumvent objections from their own partners) has seen extraordinary moves from the DA, including a threat to exclude the VF+ from all coalitions in the province, alleged bribery of ANC councillors to cross over, and much else besides.

But the party failed to stand up for their own members. Juan van Schalkwyk, who had to endure volleys of abuse and smears from the DA and their local networks for standing up to their corrupt behaviour, was summarily sold down the river by the national leadership, who expelled him for pissing off the DA, with whom they have to work in the national coalition.

According to the latest Brenthurst survey, their support has collapsed in Pretoria, from 16% to just 4%. Judging by conversations with insiders, this is largely due to the continued presence of a small clique of careerist stooges blocking change and progress, and failing to endorse meaningful avenues for devolution of powers. But it is also due to the party’s insistence on staying in the GNU.

This grumbling will not be able to be contained for long. The party, which has seen not a single defection since 2021, has now lost one of their staunchest supporters, Isabelle de Taillefer.

The tragedy of all of this is that the VF+ is the perfect parliamentary platform for the pursuit of self-determination. While much of the work will have to be done by AfriForum and Solidariteit, these civic groups cannot get everything sone quite as smoothly without support in the wards, councils and legislatures.

Cape independence likewise relies on support from Afrikaners, and the small Anglo-led outfits currently pressing the charge have limited reach so long as support remains tied up in a party that is reluctant to take bold measures.

A VF+ that left the GNU would be far freer to attack the ruling coalition and the system it defends. They would be able to brand themselves as the only opposition party, and instead of protecting the ANC as the rightmost force in South African politics like the DA does, could vacuum up all the disappointed supporters of the DA by undermining them on every front of their PR strategy.

The VF+ is less corrupt than the DA, less prone to hysteria, more firm in their commitment to minority rights, does not endorse left-wing policies, and as an independent actor, would be free to attack the ANC for the rotten nest of vipers they are.

And their PR department is equally slow to act, slow to issue statements, and cumbersome to operate at the branch level. I believe that the main reason they fail to respond with agility, besides the several layers of permission one needs to issue a statement, is that they simply do not have a coherent position. They must defend a walking contradiciton - a party which calls for secession and devolution sitting impotently in the corner of the ANC’s tent.

There is simply not enough time to sit and use persuasion - if the ANC is not receptive to the DA, the business community or the international community, why does Mulder, Wessels and Groenewald think they can move the needle from the tiny, marginal position they currently occupy?

If they do not shape up, they will easily lose half their support in the coming local elections, and they alone will be to blame.

If they leave tomorrow, they will lose nothing but Pieter Groenewald’s pension. If that is what is keeping them there, they have no purpose for existing.

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