Trouble In Paradise As Corné Mulder Exposes What Will Happen If The DA Partners With The ANC

Freedom Front Plus leader Corné Mulder has warned that his party will end its cooperation with the Democratic Alliance across South Africa if the DA forms a coalition with the African National Congress in Johannesburg.

Mulder delivered the warning to DA federal leader Geordin Hill-Lewis during an interview with BizNews. He said the FF Plus would not support an arrangement that brought the ANC into power in the city, arguing that such a deal would give the governing party renewed influence after its reduced support in the local government elections.

The warning comes as parties negotiate to govern Johannesburg, where no party won enough council seats to rule alone. The DA has the option of discussing an arrangement with the ANC, but Mulder said the FF Plus would withdraw from cooperation with the DA nationwide if it chose that route. His statement places pressure on the DA as it considers potential partners in the metro.

Mulder said the FF Plus would instead prefer a coalition involving the DA, ActionSA and his party. He argued that the three parties could work together to form administrations in major cities and improve service delivery. However, the proposed partnership would still depend on negotiations and the support of enough councillors to secure a majority in each council.

The disagreement reflects the difficult choices facing parties after the 2026 local government elections. Hung councils require parties to negotiate agreements on mayors, council leadership and policy priorities. A deal in Johannesburg could also affect political relationships in other municipalities, where the DA and FF Plus cooperate.

Mulder’s warning is conditional: he has not said that the FF Plus has already ended its cooperation with the DA. The party’s decision would depend on whether the DA reaches an agreement with the ANC in Johannesburg. No such coalition agreement had been announced in the reports available.

The DA has also faced pressure from ActionSA over the mayoral candidate it puts forward in Johannesburg. ActionSA has proposed that both DA mayoral hopeful Helen Zille and its own leader, Herman Mashaba, step aside in favour of another DA candidate, alongside a role for ActionSA in the city’s administration. The DA has not accepted that proposal.

The competing demands narrow the DA’s coalition options. A partnership with the ANC could give it another route to governing Johannesburg but risk losing the FF Plus as a partner elsewhere. An agreement with ActionSA and the FF Plus would avoid that fallout, but would require agreement on leadership and policy.

Mulder’s intervention makes clear that coalition choices in one metro may have wider consequences for cooperation between parties nationally. The DA has yet to announce its final approach to Johannesburg, while negotiations continue across the country.

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