Who really is the son of the soil?

GEOFF SIFRIN

Everywhere, you see bakkies with enthusiastic youngsters jumping out to affix posters of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema, in his characteristic red beret, smiling amiably, with the words “Son of the Soil”. The message it appears to be giving is: if this honest young man found a million dollars on the street, he would search for the owner, and not keep a cent. The country would be safe in his hands.

However, any follower of South African politics knows Malema’s other face. He is feared for his aggressiveness and regarded as a potential fascist. He and his unruly comrades have been thrown out of Parliament for disruption, been accused of assaulting a journalist, fired live rounds illegally at the EFF’s anniversary, and have constantly used derogatory, anti-white racial language. Nervous whites say the country is doomed if he gets significant power.

In his posters, Malema does what all politicians do: project a positive image of himself and a negative one of his opponents. An old adage says that the most successful political leader is not the most honest one, but the best liar, who can convince millions to follow him. Honest politicians get relegated to the side lines. History is littered with dishonest leaders sending thousands of soldiers into futile battles.

In the internet era, it’s not just physical posters on street poles that manipulate potential voters; Twitter and Facebook are ideal. At the highest level, United States President Donald Trump unashamedly uses Twitter like a street poster to broadcast his messages. Other international politicians do the same, regardless of their positions, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Monday – a week before the Israeli elections – Ynet in Tel Aviv reported a synchronised system of Facebook and Twitter accounts that has been discovered by internet watchdog, the Big Bots Project. This was employed for the purpose of praising Netanyahu and discrediting his opponents.

In South Africa, digital placards are less used because the population is less internet-savvy. But in the more prosaic, physical poster-war on street poles in Johannesburg, dreary-looking images of African National Congress (ANC) leader, President Cyril Ramaphosa, call out, “Let’s grow South Africa together!”

The message we are meant to read is, “We are the hundred-year-old ANC, the older sons of the soil, who destroyed apartheid and will lead South Africa to prosperity.” For the election, the ANC is relying on the notion that even if it is stained by corruption today, most South Africans will vote for it, believing it is not the ANC that is corrupt, but certain individuals, who will be rooted out.

In other places, posters of others parties dominate, such as the Democratic Alliance and Freedom Front Plus. Among minorities, the Jewish vote is so small as to be almost irrelevant.

Everyone knows Ramaphosa’s hold on power is precarious because the old guard of former President Jacob Zuma’s supporters are waiting to stab him in the back. The reassurances his posters are meant to convey are tenuous. Malema’s posters are slightly more effective: The man is actually in charge of his party. If the EFF was not racist, some whites might even vote for it.

All things considered, it might be best for the country if the tired ANC collapsed and was rebuilt from scratch without the rogues who ruined it. Is this possible? For a start, South African voters will have to put their votes elsewhere to convey the message.