Freedom Front Plus leader leaves the party he’s been a part of for 32 years to join the Democratic Alliance

Former FF+ Caucus Leader, Grandi Theunissen, has joined the Democratic Alliance after 32 years with the Freedom Front Plus.

DA leader and mayoral candidate for the City of Tshwane, Cilliers Brink, announced the crossover on Tuesday (25 August).

Theunissen had been serving as the FF+ Caucus Leader in Tshwane until recently.

He sparked controversy in June after the FF+ Tshwane Caucus voted against the wishes of the party’s constituents, leading to internal consternation.

The party had publicly supported the Groenkloof Residents’ Association’s position opposing a development in Totius Street, Groenkloof.

However, when it came time to vote on the matter at a meeting in June, the caucus, under Theunissen’s leadership, voted in favour of the development.

FF Plus MPL and Provincial Leader for Gauteng, Jaco Mulder, published a statement publicly criticising the decision, and the party initiated an internal investigation.

Theunissen has now crossed over to the Democratic Alliance.

According to Brink, the former FF+ leader is not joining the party as a disgruntled individual, but rather as a credible community leader.

“He was highly electable on the FF+ lists, and is a credible community leader, with the requisite skills and experience to add value in the municipality,” he said.

Brink added that the DA sees the move as “extremely significant” for the ratepayers and residents of the city.

Theunissen previously served as a Mayoral Committee Member under Brink, who was then the city mayor.

Brink said that it was during this time that Theunissen “proved himself to be entirely aligned, working against forces of corruption and capture.”

Theunissen said he hopes to make a positive contribution to the DA and to Tshwane’s success. He said it was difficult to do after 32 years with the FF+.

“Leaving a party of which I have been a member since 1994 is a difficult decision. As chairperson of the FF Plus’s largest region, I worked hard to grow the party,” he said.

“However, between 2023 and 2024, the FF Plus voted to topple several DA mayors in the Western Cape.

“Brink and I promised each other that we would not allow this kind of politicking to jeopardise our own coalition here in the Tshwane metro.”

The former FF+ leader said that he had been able to work across party lines because he shared the same values and interests as Brink, and now he will work in the same party.

“My focus is now on the future. We must stand together to win,” he said.