We shouldn't see Mandela as a saint, says FW de Klerk

FW de Klerk, South Africa's last white president, called Nelson Mandela on Monday a brutal and unfair opponent and said he was no holy man, angering the African National Congress.

De Klerk, 76, who in 1993 won the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Mandela, said the anti-apartheid hero was a principled man of stature and strength," but was never a faultless figure. "I do not subscribe to the general hagiography surrounding Mandela," he said in a speech in Johannesburg over the weekend, reflecting on their tense negotiations over democratic reforms.

"He was by no means the avuncular and saintlike figure so widely depicted today."

The ruling ANC said De Klerk was poisoning the country with his remarks, and could not acknowledge Mandela's bravery because the former president was black. Keith Khoza, a spokesman, said: "De Klerk should acknowledge Mandela and his achievements and understand that his time has passed as a president."

De Klerk also spoke glowingly about Baroness Thatcher and her policies, praising her as a great leader who took on the unions and won - and subsequently she took on the Argentinians and beat them as well.

"In all this she showed far greater determination and courage than any prime minister since Winston Churchill," De Klerk said.

De Klerk, who runs a charitable foundation, last month warned against ANC plans for a second transition, amid concerns that South Africa's post-1994 constitution will be subverted.