The GOOD party has for the past week seen three of its party members and councillors in the Western Cape defecting to the Democratic Alliance (DA), something that political analysts believe is an indication that the party is falling apart.
According to political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe, “the future of the GOOD party doesn’t look bright” as the party is failing to attract and retain members.
"What we see in the GOOD party is like what happened to AZAPO when its former president was appointed as the Minister of Science and Technology by the ANC administration.
“People couldn’t distinguish the difference between the two. I am afraid this is what is happening to the GOOD party, as Patricia de Lille is also part of the ANC administration, and this is failing her as a leader," said Seepe.
He said de Lille was now part of the ANC administration, and this compromised her as a leader of the opposition, because she was now being viewed as part of the failing ANC government.
"Another thing is that the GOOD party is failing to distinguish itself in the politics of the Western Cape; it has too many similarities with parties like Action SA and the DA, and what GOOD stands for is still unclear.
“For you to make a mark in politics, you have to be different from other political parties, as the DA is very strong in what it stands for; hence, we are seeing a growth of its membership in the province," said Seepe.
For the GOOD party to improve its membership in the province, it had to change its strategy and De Lille had to prioritise her party rather than her Cabinet position.
GOOD party spokesperson Brett Herron said the party wasn’t falling apart as analysts likef to believe as it continued to recruit new members.
"We are still in good standing, and we continue to attract new members. Analysts will judge us by our performance during the by-elections. However, we didn’t go there to win but to present ourselves to the people in areas where we had no presence before.
“(We aim) to solidify our support bases, and to establish new branches. We are very confident that we will do well in the upcoming elections," said Herron.
Last week, three members of the GOOD party, Theresa Jeyi, Richard Hector, and Neville Louw, who are councillors of the party in George, all joined the DA, claiming that the GOOD party was only good on paper.
Herron said the three members had since shown the desire to come back to the party.