WHAT could Julius Malema possibly have in common with rightwing UK politician Nigel Farage?
A lot, says Tim Harris, the DA MP and shadow finance minister, who was in London last week to drum up support from donors and voters.
"We all have our rightwing reactionary upstarts. The UK's dealing with Nigel Farage and we're dealing with Julius Malema who - although he tries to talk left -is quite clearly driving a rightwing nationalist agenda," Harris told the Sunday Times on Friday. Adding, "I think young South Africans can see through his easy answers to hard questions."
Farage, leader of the fast-rising United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), is a divisive figure in British politics. His vocal anti-immigration and anti-European Union rhetoric has resonated with a section of the UK electorate that, having been bludgeoned by the global recession, now feels bitter and betrayed.
Harris believes Malema's Economic Freedom Fighters and Farage's UKIP are alike.
He is confident that, despite the emergence of the EFF and the fallout with Agang's Dr Mamphele Ramphela, the DA will continue its "extraordinary growth trajectory" and win between 20 and 30 percent of the vote in this election.
The party has been investing a lot of time and money on polling.
"People forget the DA got 1.7% in 1994. We got 17 percent five years ago... and we'll be looking to increase that substantially this election. And if we can get that right: there's a chance we can push the ANC below 60%, which would be an extremely symbolic moment for SA," says Harris.
The DA's message - anchored by its anti-corruption stance, support of a youth subsidy and job creation proposals - will resonate with the "new type of voter that's emerging... (who are) younger, urban and prepared to break with their parents voting patterns and allegiances. We're generating a lot of momentum and making big gains in new markets, particularly in Gauteng," says Harris.
It helps, he says, that their message is delivered by the likes of Mmusi Maimane.
President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead had "become a monument to corruption".
"The ANC is simply not credible on fighting corruption," he says.
While in London, Harris met a legal firm that advises investors and told them: "We believe in South Africa's potential and our mission is to fix our politics so that we can achieve that potential. They should not allow the bad politics, that is putting a cap on that potential, to undermine their confidence in SA's economy."
Even though South Africa is set to lose it's bragging rights to Nigeria, which has recalibrated its GDP and will be Africa's biggest economy on Monday, Harris says: "We have the only manufacturing base to speak of in Africa. We have the largest endowment of mineral reserves... of any country on Earth, we have companies that have taken on the world and won."
SA should not have a growth rate below 2% while the continent averages 6%.
Harris does think the EFF will make it to Parliament, but believes they're in for a shock when they do.
On Malema making it to Parliament, Harris said: "Malema will come to Parliament with a handful of MPs and he will find it a very difficult place to operate. If you don't have a critical mass in Parliament you can't sit on a big committee, you can't work on every law, you don't get a lot of speaking time. I think he's going to find it a sobering experience."
Malema will find Parliament a sobering experience: Tim Harris
WHAT could Julius Malema possibly have in common with rightwing UK politician Nigel Farage?
A lot, says Tim Harris, the DA MP and shadow finance minister, who was in London last week to drum up support from donors and voters.
"We all have our rightwing reactionary upstarts. The UK's dealing with Nigel Farage and we're dealing with Julius Malema who - although he tries to talk left -is quite clearly driving a rightwing nationalist agenda," Harris told the Sunday Times on Friday. Adding, "I think young South Africans can see through his easy answers to hard questions."
Farage, leader of the fast-rising United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), is a divisive figure in British politics. His vocal anti-immigration and anti-European Union rhetoric has resonated with a section of the UK electorate that, having been bludgeoned by the global recession, now feels bitter and betrayed.
Harris believes Malema's Economic Freedom Fighters and Farage's UKIP are alike.
He is confident that, despite the emergence of the EFF and the fallout with Agang's Dr Mamphele Ramphela, the DA will continue its "extraordinary growth trajectory" and win between 20 and 30 percent of the vote in this election.
The party has been investing a lot of time and money on polling.
"People forget the DA got 1.7% in 1994. We got 17 percent five years ago... and we'll be looking to increase that substantially this election. And if we can get that right: there's a chance we can push the ANC below 60%, which would be an extremely symbolic moment for SA," says Harris.
The DA's message - anchored by its anti-corruption stance, support of a youth subsidy and job creation proposals - will resonate with the "new type of voter that's emerging... (who are) younger, urban and prepared to break with their parents voting patterns and allegiances. We're generating a lot of momentum and making big gains in new markets, particularly in Gauteng," says Harris.
It helps, he says, that their message is delivered by the likes of Mmusi Maimane.
President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead had "become a monument to corruption".
"The ANC is simply not credible on fighting corruption," he says.
While in London, Harris met a legal firm that advises investors and told them: "We believe in South Africa's potential and our mission is to fix our politics so that we can achieve that potential. They should not allow the bad politics, that is putting a cap on that potential, to undermine their confidence in SA's economy."
Even though South Africa is set to lose it's bragging rights to Nigeria, which has recalibrated its GDP and will be Africa's biggest economy on Monday, Harris says: "We have the only manufacturing base to speak of in Africa. We have the largest endowment of mineral reserves... of any country on Earth, we have companies that have taken on the world and won."
SA should not have a growth rate below 2% while the continent averages 6%.
Harris does think the EFF will make it to Parliament, but believes they're in for a shock when they do.
On Malema making it to Parliament, Harris said: "Malema will come to Parliament with a handful of MPs and he will find it a very difficult place to operate. If you don't have a critical mass in Parliament you can't sit on a big committee, you can't work on every law, you don't get a lot of speaking time. I think he's going to find it a sobering experience."
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