Preparing the way for President Malema
As I have frequently remarked, you can die of many things in South Africa but boredom won't be one of them. The run up to the next general election promises to be even more hilarious than the last, particularly now Juju Malema is back in the headlines. A friend visiting from London asked me how a man who is up on charges of fraud, corruption and racketeering and who owes the taxman R16mln can be allowed to form a political party.
I explained that this is Africa and that we no longer subscribe to outdated colonial values down here on the southern tip, much as we may covet their cars and admire their tailoring. The incredulous friend then asked if Juju would find any support and I had to reply that, as the only truly populist politician, he would enjoy enormous support should he make it through to 2014 without first being chucked into prison.
The great thing about Malema is that, while he may appear to be a few sandwiches short of a picnic, he pushes all the right buttons among the poor and dispossessed. They're not remotely interested in the fact that he has had a few money problems and may have been involved in some dodgy deals. They don't give a fig that he wears clothes and jewellery that cost more than they can hope to earn in a lifetime or that he has a taste for premium whisky.
All they care about are his revenge politics policies. Things like nationalising key industries and delivering free farms which will have been repossessed from thieving colonialists without compensation. But why stop at farms and land? Surely all those empty holiday homes on Clifton beach could be repossessed and handed out to party loyalists?
The great thing about the Economic Freedom Fighters is that they aren't racist.
"Who are we to say whites must be driven into the sea?" asks Malema who anticipates that there will be a free red beret for every white person who helps out with land redistribution. On the other hand, if you just want to hang onto your land and not make the contents of your bank account available for the upliftment of your fellow South Africans then you may find the going a little rough.