If you happened to see the lovefest between our current and former president at the ANC’s 107-year anniversary celebrations, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the two are best tjommies.

Cutting cakes, sharing jokes, and generally looking rather cosy together – it really was enough to bring up the night before’s dinner.

Oh, and if you think ANC supporters are glad to see the back of Jacob Zuma, think again.

Just look at the rapturous reception he received when he arrived at the ANC manifesto launch this past Saturday:

#ANCManifesto WATCH people react to Jacob Zuma’s arrival. CM pic.twitter.com/12xuxmVzql

— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) January 12, 2019

The mind boggles, as the sheep cheer on the wolf.

Of course, as anyone with more than a cursory understanding of the ANC’s internal politics understands, Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa’s bromance is nothing more than a front, because behind the scenes a battle for power rages on.

Max du Preez sees through it, and he outlined what might come next in his latest News24 column:

Most of us watching know that the subtext determines that Ramaphosa be comradely and warm to Zuma so he would remain in the ANC kraal and his followers would still vote ANC in May.

Once the ANC has scored a decisive electoral victory, the subtext continues, we will see the Real Cyril. He will change direction; he will clean up government [can he please start with Bathabile Dlamini?]; he will whip the economy into shape, even when the measures are unpalatable to his left wing; he will pull the sting out of the land issue; and he will bring an end to the reckless populism in the governing party.

Some of the soapie viewers say Cyril is spineless, others say he’s a master tactician.

We will have to wait until after the election to find out who was right. Until then, prepare yourself for more sickeningly sweet love scenes between the two.

Perhaps Ramaphosa is bargaining that the Zondo commission and the new blood at the national prosecuting authority will do his dirty work for him and discredit Zuma, his benefactors and cronies to such an extent that they’re virtually neutralised.

I know that real change within the ANC ranks requires patience, but every time I see Cyril and Jacob together I’m reminded of how that ‘New Dawn’ continues to be deferred.

One of the party’s dirtiest wheelers and dealers, ANC secretary general Ace Magashule, has also been recorded last year talking about how Cyril will only lead until the next ANC national conference.

Max’s thoughts on that:

Every time I talk to people in the Ramaphosa inner circle, they tell me that he is going to drastically reduce the size of the executive and the civil service after the election; that he will turn the state-owned enterprises back into profitability; introduce public/private partnerships; that he will make sure that the expropriation without compensation project does no damage to agriculture or the economy; and that he will clean up the ANC of crooks and charlatans.

I think he genuinely wants to do these things. But we now know that his opposition inside his own party is still much stronger than he (and most observers) had anticipated.

Ramaphosa doesn’t only want a full term until the next election in 2024, he wants a second term as president until 2029.

How realistic is it to expect that he won’t be inhibited by the possibility of an early recall?

Sadly, that’s where we are at. Cyril might want to enact real, positive change, but he’s being curtailed by the fact that the party he leads doesn’t want it, with many remaining loyal to the crooked former president and his cohorts.

Then again, as another national election looms, where the ANC will once again waltz to a win despite 25 years of criminally inept and outright criminal leadership, why would they bother with change?

[source:news24]