BARNEY MTHOMBOTHI: Sucking up to Malema makes Ramaphosa seem weak
'Why does Ramaphosa need Malema to hold his hand to Marikana or anywhere in the country?'
Former British prime minister Gordon Brown became the butt of jokes a few years ago during the general election that turfed him out of office. In a televised debate, he kept saying "I agree with Nick" and "As Nick was saying" in reference to Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats. Odd that Brown should seek some validation from a rival who led the smallest of the three main parties. Brown's Labour Party went on to lose power, while Clegg's fortunes soared, becoming deputy to Conservative prime minister David Cameron. While President Cyril Ramaphosa does not run the risk of suffering the same fate, his pandering to Julius Malema can sometimes rankle. Put crudely, he's sucking up.Even Ramaphosa's fiercest rivals will agree that his state of the nation address, presented just days after Jacob Zuma's midnight swansong, was skilful and in a stroke transformed him from the loyal, almost docile, subordinate - even enabler - of a dishonourable potentate to a confident skipper brimming ...
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