Julius Malema's comeback: Riding the wave of Trump's attention

You know the kid that gets sent to the naughty corner and returns with excitement after his timeout is over? Somehow EFF leader Julius Malema reminds me of that kid. But in adult form. After a lull fuelled by betrayals and a humiliating defeat at the polls, many wrote Malema and his party off.

Then came Trump showcasing Malema's defiance, rabble rousing antics to the world. It may have embarrassed Team SA and caused President Cyril Ramaphosa to squirm in his chair next to Trump. But, for Malema, that was the best publicity he could ever have asked for. Free, nogal.

Anyone woke enough now knows who Malema is, what he stands for and that Trump sees him as a threat. And with that, team Africa has rallied behind Malema – if social media reactions are anything to go by.

Malema is revelling in the attention.

While his 15 minutes – or more – of fame in Trump's office is not enough to take the EFF back to its glorious days, the attention has served as a catalyst for a comeback of sorts. And those close to Malema agree. "Its definitely given us a boost. There was a lull after Floyd left the party. We all felt the betrayal because he was considered a brother. But we regrouped, restructured and reorganised our party. This attention on a world stage is fantastic and it's definitely given the party a boost. We've had people all over wanting to join the EFF," says one of those within Malema's inner circle.

Trump's attention has somehow given a bruised and battered Malema a shot in the arm. And he wasted no time on taking aim at the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party. It's personal. How can it not be when Maema's closest confidants, founding members abandoned the EFF to join MK? The biggest betrayal of course, according to Malema was his former deputy Floyd Shivambu, now MK's Secretary General. So it's personal. Very personal. Malema has a score to settle.

And that fury came full throttle when he unleashed his vitriol against MK recently, branding its parliamentarians 'stupid' and ruling out any possibility of unity between the two parties.

Malema does Malema well. The mature, quiet and slimmed down version he's become in recent years has not endeared him to his core constituents. And that was never his brand image.

Left on his own following the exodus of his most trusted comrades who he viewed as brothers, Malema was wounded. The weakest he's ever been. Much to the delight of his political opponents. But, Trump's attention on Malema changed that. That bombastic, firebrand no filter Malema seems to have bounced back. Emerging out of the political lull he is going back to what gave him brand EFF.

Anti imperialism, anti western and now anti MK is his mantra. Brand Malema. But is it too late? Has the EFF ship sailed? Can Malema pull the EFF out of the wreckage and get it to compete on the political racetrack again?

The next few months will determine whether the EFF - and Malema can salvage the party. With local elections next year, the race is on to regain local support. To win hearts. And for the EFF, that means taking on MK. Forget the Democratic Alliance, the EFF has its eyes on MK. It's personal.

But politics is a numbers game. DA leader John Steenhuisen tried to use that to downplay Malema's significance during the meeting with Trump. But the EFF, despite its hammering at the polls and loss of support to MK, is still here. The fourth largest party in the country. Not part of the Government of National Unity (GNU) but a significant player nonetheless and that cannot be ignored, even with its reduced numbers.

Like MK, the EFF is also battling internal divisions. MK still has the backing in KwaZulu-Natal which will serve it well.

The EFF will struggle with numbers unless Malema pulls out a hat trick. And Trump's attention won't be enough. And, despite adulation from supporters across Africa Malema needs the South African support to grow his party and regain lost ground. That's exactly what he is doing, I'm told by those close to him. Going back to basics. Back to the trenches. Back to riling up political sentiment based on race. His anti-boer song which irked Trump prompting him to challenge Ramaphosa to arrest Malema, will continue to be sung. It's been a defining war cry song at EFF rallies and will intensify post Trump's attention on it.

Malema is back. But whether it's too little too late is left to be seen.

* Zohra Teke is an independent writer and journalist.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Independent Media or IOL.