Category: this is south africa

What with one thing (Brexit) and another (Trump), Western politics has been quite interesting of late. But that wasn’t always the case.
Still, despite those dramatic anomalies mentioned above – South African politics remains more interesting. And, for me, some of the best bits about South African politics are the enthusiastic media releases from various organisations, characterised by their excessive verbiage and circumlocution.

Who could forget when Blade Nzimande told us about:

the anti-majoritarian, conservative reactive groundswell that seeks to tarnish the whole movement, portraying us all as anti-constitutionalist and as narrow nationalist chauvinists.

Hmm?

Or when Fikile “Fickle” Mbalula waxed lyrical thus:

We were aware of the ultra-leftist tendencies that were aimed at uplifting pseudo-Marxist predispositions at the expense of the revolutionary recognition of the symbiotic link between national liberation and social emancipation; born out of the acknowledgement of the inter-play between the national oppression and class exploitation; in the context of the National Democratic Revolution.

Ah yes. Halcyon days.

This morning, I was greeted (not literally) by a media release from the ANC Women’s League. Now, after they commended the killing of wives in the Eastern Cape, you might not be expecting too much from them, but Secretary General Meokgo Matuba has really stepped up to the plate with this statement on the Land Reform debate in Parliament yesterday.
Here’s an excerpt:

Any delay by the ANC led government in implementing ANC resolutions will give grounds to demagoguery, opportunistic populist formations to throw rhetorics and portrays themselves as the champions of the poor and the working class. The funded mercenaries who are proudly bedfellows of our historical class enemies, will portray themselves as the solution to socio-economic challenges the country is facing whilst they are mere election footsoldiers of the neo-liberal political party that is advancing white supremacy.

I once threw rhetorics. It was a huge error. It turned out to be the gateway to lobbing oratories and from there I got heavily into flinging magniloquence. Still, I’ve been clean for a few years now, and I count it as nothing more than a difficult learning experience.
We all make mistakes.

There’s something about left-wing politics that seems to demand verbosity. And there’s a certain pomposity about South African politicians which gives them free rein – even encourages them – to use that verbosity whenever possible.

Long may it continue. It makes for really entertaining reading.