POLITICS LIVE: What the state of the nation will tell us about the state of the Zuma
'The well-disguised enemy is everywhere - in newspaper articles, in public protector reports, in court judgements, in opposition parties, in foreign embassies, why, even in the very heart of Luthuli House'
On Thursday, President Jacob Zuma will deliver his state of the nation address. It is an understatement to say that expectations are low. Zuma’s speeches are traditionally bland, peppered with ‘nine-point plans’ and scarcely believable claims of success, and delivered in a halting oratorical style which suggests that he is not entirely confident in what he is saying. But we may be in for a more direct and therefore less-ignorable speech this time around. With 10 months to go as ANC president, this is probably the last address he will deliver as a man fully in charge of his party and the country. Zuma has begun to construct a narrative to explain his failure to deliver to his base, his brushes with the business establishment and his rough encounters with the constitutional order. He let it slip in an address to the ANC Youth League in his home province, KwaZulu-Natal, in December, that he is the victim of a strategy by ‘white monopoly capital’ to prevent radical transformation. It is...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.