We learnt a fair amount about some of South Africa’s premier politicians last year, and if you were ever on the fence about Julius Malema, that should now be put to bed.

The “firebrand”, as everyone was so keen to dub him over the years, really showed his true colours, along with the EFF, and it wasn’t at all pretty.

Perhaps the most devastating takedown came from Richard Poplak, who said that the party is “just another group of goons in pyjamas, looking to extract rents from the state”.

You can read that here, and while you’re on a roll, also check out Robin Binckes, a South African history guide, and his open letter to Julius.

Given that it’s 2019, and that means it’s election year, you can expect the divisive rhetoric to be turned right up, and the EFF will continue to attack and discredit anybody who exposes their hypocrisy.

In fact, according to EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee, 2019 is the year of the “total onslaught”, and Julius is going to lead the way.

Below from City Press:

Julius Malema has taken over the critical role of coordinating the campaign work of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) as the party plans a total onslaught to bring the governing ANC down to below 50% of support in the elections later this year.

Malema will be the only face of the EFF on all the election material – a decision expected to be ratified at the party’s national list conference in two weeks’ time…

[Gardee, above, said] this year’s elections were “do or die” and that was why Malema had been roped in to monitor the work of all provincial, regional and branch election structures, working with a team stationed in his office…

“This election is the mother of all battles. It is now or never,” he said.

He added that even the Western Cape under the opposition DA was in the EFF’s sights.

“There are no holy cows and exceptions, so it is a total onslaught. We are not contesting to be kingmakers, coalitions or the opposition. We are contesting for power; to be the government.”

They also have their minds set on reducing the ANC’s vote below 50%, with a regional leader of the EFF saying he was certain that could be achieved.

The Daily Maverick has put together an excellent look at “The politics of 2019”, ominously labelling them “sharp, divisive, dangerous”, and had this to say about the EFF and Malema:

For the EFF, as ever, so much of its fortunes rest on its leader, Julius Malema. Should he be able to withstand the claims of corruption levelled against the EFF after the VBS scandal, the party may be able to weather part of that storm. So far, no polling has indicated that it has lost significant support.

However, by its own admission, this is a “make or break” election for the EFF. Should it not be able to go above 10% or even 15% it may lose its ability to dominate the national discussion. And without that, that could lead to a much longer-term slide.

Hey, we can dream.

Then again, what does that mean for our political system at large?

While it is entirely possible that the elections actually do lead to big changes in our politics, it is also entirely possible that they won’t. In other words, that the results of the elections are not that different from the results of 2014, despite everything that has happened since then.

That would mean our political holding pattern continues for some time, keeping the real power play inside the ANC for years to come.

Maybe hold off on popping the bubbly, then.

Saddle up, because 2019 is a going to be serious rollercoaster ride.

[sources:citypress&dailymav]