Votes of no confidence

2008-11-18 10:20

David Moseley

There's a mild furore developing in the UK for no reason whatsoever. On the reality programme Strictly Come Dancing the worst dancer, former political journo John Sergeant, has made it deep into the shows final stages, this despite receiving the worst dance scores and being routinely scorned by the judges.

The celebrity stars and their professional dance partners are voted through by the public and the public have taken a liking to Sergeant, much to the chagrin of the shows expert panel.

So while the show is touted as a "best dancer" competition, it is, in reality, a popularity contest. Much like an election. The public get a chance to vote for the party with the best policies and the perfect promises, but, in reality, end up voting for the person they like the most; the most popular person in their eyes.

That's a bit distressing for the discerning voter, because the only people in anyone's eyes at the moment are: Comrade Julius, Mosiuoa Lekota, Mbhazima Shilowa, Peter de Villiers and, every now and again, that drunk judge dude who crashed through a wall and is the star of the most awesome "hammered" photo ever seen.

On that note, you've got to hand it to Julius Malema. He may or may not be an absolutely bonkers and power-hungry scene-stealer, but he certainly has a way with words. And while he's easy to deride, he's certainly entrenching his militant views with every extra column inch. Naming and shaming former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa as an "irresponsible father" and "a security guard" is pretty mean. But goodness me, it makes for great comedy.

Promises, promises

People are calling for civilised political debates in South Africa, as they had (and always have) leading up to the election in the United States. It just wouldn't work here. Sure, crowds heckled Barack Obama on some occasions, but here it would be a free-for-all from the men doing the debating, not eager listeners. While Mr Lekota attempts to outline his policy on the financial crisis you'd have JZ sticking his tongue out for the entire speech, or making bunny ears with his fingers behind Lekota's head.

Lekota himself is no slouch when it comes to slightly dilly firebrand rhetoric, just this weekend stating, that "The (ANC) leaders sing songs that advocate violence. When are we going to sings songs about housing, education and clean cities?" (I can see his point, but to be perfectly honest, "Bring me my two-bedroomed duplex" is never going to incite the same kind of cheers amongst the masses). Promise, promises, Terror. Were you not recently part of the ruling party?

All the talk makes for a good read. But what happens after the speech bubbles have burst? According to the IEC over 21 million good citizens registered to vote. Will it have any impact, though? Will policy win over popularity? You can argue that Barack won because of his promises and commitment to change - but how much of his win was down to disillusionment with George W, John McCain's senior citizenry and a gloomy financial future for the man in the American street?

The publicity machines will probably only roll into action next year, but at the moment all you hear in the press are threats from the ANCYL and ANC fired towards Shilowa and Lekota's Cope. There are promises a-plenty, but the word "shallow" comes to mind.

And no word from the other once prominent parties just yet. Though if etv run their political soap-box segment, as they did during the last election, I'm sure we'll soon be hearing from all sorts of Dear Leaders.

The IFP seems all but vanquished to after-thought status. Patricia de Lille? Is she still in the country? While the DA (still the official opposition - or have they been replaced by the myriad bitter tongues of disgruntled comrades?), barring the launch of a new logo, have been keeping mum. All credit to the dignified Hellen Zille for not getting dragged into any mud-slinging, but you actually wonder what kind of punch any of the other parties can pull come election day.

The capable, you feel, will come a very distant second, to the popular.

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