EFF needs to think beyond Malema
Time to take stock of party’s positioning
At 40, Julius Malema is now neither young nor old. The same is true of the political party he leads, the EFF. It is therefore an opportune time to take stock of the party’s positioning within SA politics and to ask: “Where to from here?”
Before looking to the future, it is necessary to evaluate the party’s strengths and weaknesses so far. There can be no doubt that the looting ways and political arrogance of the Anc-led government could easily have been much worse but for the entry of EFF into the political arena.
It pains critics of the EFF to concede that the oversight role of parliament has been enhanced by the vigilance and energies of the EFF.
To be fair, there are some excellent MPS among the other opposition parties, ranging from the IFP, to the DA, the United Democratic Movement, and a few others.
But as a political unit, the EFF ensured that, since the latter part of the Jacob Zuma presidency, parliament (and by implication the entire country) is not taken for granted.
Parliament had been robbed of its constitutional role primarily because of wilfully useless ANC backbenchers who are loyal to party bosses and deployment committees rather than to the South African constitution.
No one can write a complete history of South Africa’s post-apartheid parliament without honouring the EFF’S contribution.
They have used a combination of politics and lawfare to hold government accountable.
But the EFF has now lost the novelty advantage. They have been around long enough for the electorate to not be excited by the mere fact that Malema had proven that it doesn’t have to be cold outside the ANC.
He has, like Bantu Holomisa, fashioned a home for himself, and that is no mean feat. But now what? Where to from here? They are good on the offensive but what might an EFF government look like and would even all current EFF voters want to be governed by the EFF?
First, the EFF must deal with Malema’s unhelpful omnipresence. The party has no prospects of surviving Malema. It needs to yet develop a coherent, attractive and feasible political offering that does not inherently depend on Malema.
Malema should be seen and experienced as a leader enhancing the EFF. Currently, Malema is the EFF and there is no EFF without Malema. That is a recipe for future disaster.
Second, the party tends to hold press conferences on a random basis where Malema freestyles for hours on crucial issues of the day. This reinforces the first problem, his unhelpful omnipresence. You do not see the results of genuine bottom-up policy and ideological formation, debate and revisions or reinforcement.
Who is the EFF? What is the EFF? Beyond the important oversight role it plays, what positive and textured characterisation can the average politically engaged citizen give of the EFF? They would struggle. That is what makes it hard to imagine or try to guess what an EFF government might look like. The party must complement its oversight strength by also doing a much better job at articulating an alternative vision to those of the DA and the ANC.
People vote for parties for many different reasons. Not everyone voting EFF (or DA for that matter) necessarily wants to live in a South Africa run by the EFF (or the DA). They could vote against the ANC and in support of competitive politics.
The implication is that the EFF must assume both that it needs to attract more voters who aren’t voting EFF currently, and the party must not assume all current voters are supporters for life.
This calls for political humility, which is not the first trait associated with our two main opposition parties.
The EFF needs to show greater internal democracy, less slavish reliance on Malema’s unhelpful omnipresence and it also needs to develop a more in-depth vision and set of policies to sell to the SA voter.
The EFF must deal with Malema’s unhelpful omnipresence