PETER BRUCE: Ramaphosa must shake off Zuma and get on with his new deal
'The president has political space to begin putting into place the "New Deal" he spoke of during the ANC leadership campaign'
EXTRACT:
Behind the scenes, what's really happening is much more fascinating. Zuma isn't going to push away the supporters he does have but he knows they can't really help him. He knows that whatever evidence is led against him when his case begins in earnest later this year, or whatever the judgment, he has more powerful forces watching him.
I was going to write that as "watching over him" but that would be to overstate things. Nonetheless, it seems clear that President Cyril Ramaphosa keeps in close touch with Zuma and consults him and tells him what he's doing. This has nothing to do with Zuma's coming trial, which Ramaphosa would not and could not prevent taking place.
But it has everything to do with Ramaphosa's position in the ANC and the supposed divide between the Zuma faction and Ramaphosa's.
To read the full article, subscribe for just R120 a month.It was strange and familiar watching former president Jacob Zuma address a crowd of 2000 people outside the Durban court where he made his first appearance on fraud charges on Friday. Strange because, I guess, the country has waited a long time for that moment. Familiar because I am learning to cook. It was like watching a reduction. You gradually, over a low heat, reduce the volume of your wine or juices or whatever until the mix minimises to its basics. And there they were on stage with Zuma. Reduced, his support on stage amounted to Hlaudi Motsoeneng, Andile Mngxitama, Carl Niehaus, some chap who pretends he's leading a huge lobby against solar power and a few priests praying for miracles. Even Zuma would know it didn't amount to much.The fightback promised through reports about Zuma loyalists massing in support of him in a number of newspapers which should know better simply isn't there. There was a sprinkling of ANC T-sh...
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