South African politics is in deep flux following the elections, with the wave of change presenting both risks and opportunities.
As the government of national unity (GNU) gets down to work, the opposition is in turmoil: Jacob Zuma’s MK Party is in a constant state of upheaval, and the EFF, still reeling from its dismal election performance, has been dealt a new blow by the defection of Floyd Shivambu, one of its founding leaders. Worse, he has joined Zuma’s party.
While speculation is rife that Shivambu was unhappy with Julius Malema’s handling of the GNU negotiations, this is far from the truth. It was Shivambu who led the EFF team in the talks and it was him who antagonised the ANC during negotiations, to such an extent that its negotiators abandoned the talks. Shivambu, in his characteristic rough and acerbic manner, told the ANC it was as good as dead and it should be the EFF that buried it, not a “white party” — the DA.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has publicly spoken about the consequences of this exchange.
Malema on Monday gave what he sees as the real reason for Shivambu’s defection: personal ambition. At MK, Shivambu has been promised a high-ranking post.
What this means for opposition politics more broadly is that Zuma’s party is consolidating and attempting to build a formidable-enough organisation to dethrone the ANC — it is positioning itself as a “leftist” alternative to the former liberation movement.
However, there is nothing left-leaning about the MK Party; it is a populist, nationalist far-right political project envisioned by one man, Zuma
However, there is nothing left-leaning about MK; it is a populist, nationalist far-right political project envisioned by one man, Zuma, who is also bent on revenge against his former political home. Even his wooing of Shivambu has the look of payback; Malema and the EFF were among those who bayed for his blood while he was still president.
Shivambu has been widely hailed as an organisation builder and a policy guru, both attributes sorely needed by MK. He will help to stabilise and build it, as he did at the EFF, goes the story. But his talents in this regard are overrated; the EFF’s poor performance in KwaZulu-Natal is evidence of this.
Malema was muted in his critique of MK while lashing Shivambu this week, saying everything in the EFF that carried his mark would be destroyed. Malema was adamant that the “progressive caucus” — a group of non-GNU parties that includes MK — would remain intact and would take on the ANC in parliament.
While it appears that these so-called progressive forces are coalescing and that their populist narrative could gain further traction, it is important to keep perspective. MK’s constituency is not “progressive” or “left-leaning”, it is Zulu nationalist. And by joining Zuma’s project, Shivambu, himself accused of benefiting from the looting of VBS Mutual Bank, is finding a home among many of the leading state capture suspects.
On the surface, it appears that these populist formations pose a considerable threat to South Africa, but look deeper and it becomes clear that they are nothing more than opportunists bent on evading jail time and inflicting maximum damage on the ANC — hardly a recipe for political longevity and stability.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.