Endorsing Malema is like saying Goebbels was a romantic poet

This past weekend President Jacob Zuma endorsed Julius Malema as a ‘leader in the making' and someone ‘worthy of inheriting the ANC'. It is easy to refute the suitability of Julius Malema for pretty much any position of authority; indeed, that refutation is routinely achieved by Malema himself and there is no need for the DA to set out that case here. Of more immediate concern is what such an announcement says about President Jacob Zuma and his particular understanding of leadership and the requirements inherent to it.

There are certain qualities any good leader needs to have. They need to have a vision and a purpose, which they can clearly articulate and define. They need to be inspirational, so that others follow their lead. They need to demonstrate sound judgement and the ability to make good choices. A president needs to recognise other leaders, to surround themselves with wise counsel so that their decisions are well informed.

No doubt there are other important characteristics, but those identified above go to the heart of the problem of Malema as a successor. Those characteristics take on particular importance when applied to a public position. A public position needs, as opposed to the more narrow requirements of a political or private position, one further attribute: the ability to put the interests of those people who do not necessarily share your particular viewpoint on an equal footing with those who do. No other position necessitates this requirement more than the President of a country. The President must govern for all citizens, not only a few.

Held up against these principles and values, Malema falls woefully short. Indeed, the very action of holding him up to them is somewhat embarrassing. Have we really stooped down to debating the degree to which Julius Malema epitomises good judgement, vision and the ability to unify people behind a cause? It's like being forced to discuss the idea that Goebbels was a romantic poet.

The fact that this it is a question we have been forced to address at all is an indictment and, in particular, an indictment of President Zuma. It is one thing failing to identify those characteristics that define good leadership, it is quite another somehow seeing them in Julius Malema.

If this is the kind of leader the President wishes to promote, we have much to be concerned about, for it suggests the President's own leadership is sorely lacking.

Statement issued by Khume Ramulifho, MPL, Democratic Alliance Youth national spokesperson, October 26 2009

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