Malema says EFF willing to partner with ANC in coalitions, but not DA again

At the Rand Show in Nasrec on Tuesday, EFF leader Julius Malema made it clear that his patience with the DA continues to wear thin.

TimesLIVE reports that what particularly got his goat were references in the DA’s election material, especially posters, to the EFF’s alleged involvement in looting the now liquidated VBS Mutual Bank. This despite the fact that the DA continues to need the EFF’s vote in the major metros of Tshwane and Johannesburg, after losing its governance of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro when the EFF turned on them.

He called the DA’s approach “insulting” and “unscientific” and claimed there hasn’t been evidence linking him or his party to VBS looting, despite numerous investigative journalism reports and a Reserve Bank report that could suggest the contrary.

Malema called the ANC corrupt, but added that he was open to coalitions with the governing party depending on the results of the 2019 national and provincial elections, simply because the ANC had not been as “hostile” and insulting.

Malema also told media on Tuesday that the ANC was in trouble and desperately needed a miracle to rescue them. He said the ruling party asked former president Thabo Mbeki to campaign for them as a rescue plan and would do anything possible to help them.

He said if “Luka [sic] had real power” to resurrect people, the ANC would have begged him to go to Qunu and perform a miracle there.

“These are historic elections, and that’s why they went to resurrect President Thabo Mbeki now, because they can see that it is the most difficult one. If they had a way of going to Qunu to ask for intervention, they would be doing so. If Luka had the real power to resurrect people, these people would be begging Luka to go to Qunu to do a miracle. They are in trouble, they are in desperate need and we’re on top of them, we’re not playing [sic],” said Malema.

Malema also responded to Deputy President David Mabuza’s comment on a picture that he shared on social media in which he called Malema a “president”, saying Mabuza had seen the future when he wrote his caption.

“A President, a Deputy President and a Premier, but the President of the ANC will be the President of South Africa,” wrote Mabuza (note the tweet was deleted on Tuesday).

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“He is saying he’s going to be my deputy himself, and I’m going to be the president, so that’s what he’s saying. I think David Mabuza can see the future, he’s very clear, that’s how it is. The EFF is going to be the biggest player in this election,” said the EFF leader in response to the picture that set tongues wagging on social media.

Mabuza raised eyebrows in 2017 after calling on Malema to go back to the ANC.

(Edited by Charles Cilliers. Background reporting, Vhahangwele Nemakonde)

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