Herman Mashaba never thought "in my wildest dreams" that he would become a politician, least of all the DA mayor of Johannesburg, "doing the last job in the world that I want".
Perhaps that is why he is not overly restrained in speech or in action by political conventions, and why he doesn't feel compelled to camouflage what he says in the finery of sophistry as many in the political world may do, all the better not to burn their bridges before double-crossing them. So, for example, where the politician might dwell on the historical and political factors that converged to make Jacob Zuma president, Mashaba just allows himself a hearty chuckle - and goes for the jugular.
"I really used my common sense to know my country is in big trouble," he says at the start of our interview at the mayoral offices on the hill in Braamfontein as he explains his transition from businessman and free- market crusader to politician...