The Ordinary Man
I must admit that I am an outsider to South Africa but I can’t help being enamoured by its politics. Quick frankly the politics in my country is pretty much screwed and so I may as well borrow some sugar from the neighbour. I’ve just read with some glee that the ANC is jazzing up Jacob Zuma and pimping him up for the world. A year ago I had my reservations and thought, darn it, SA will move swiftly down Zim’s route when JZ takes the mantle. However, I have since warmed up to the guy and I guess the pimp who’s doing the pimping must be praised for changing the opinionated arrogant mind.
Unlike Bob (that aging dictator in that ailing country) or Thabo (the intellectual who has started to bore us stiff!) JZ presents himself as an ordinary man, far from the aloofness which still resonates in African politics. I’ve always have had this idea since my life that politicians are special beings, almost god-like, who are on a different but yet higher level than the you-and-me on Main Street. JZ is the guy who you would probably bump into in a crowded bar and go on to offer him a pint. He’s the sort of chap who isn’t shy of admitting to his mistakes and who says a potential president can’t have a looming trial? He almost strikes me as my current mayor Ken Livingstone. He’s the ordinary Londoner who just happens to run London. Maybe South Africa could benefit from the ordinary South African, who just happens to run the country. But will JZ's shady past cloud the dreams and aspirations of a young country?
Unlike Bob (that aging dictator in that ailing country) or Thabo (the intellectual who has started to bore us stiff!) JZ presents himself as an ordinary man, far from the aloofness which still resonates in African politics. I’ve always have had this idea since my life that politicians are special beings, almost god-like, who are on a different but yet higher level than the you-and-me on Main Street. JZ is the guy who you would probably bump into in a crowded bar and go on to offer him a pint. He’s the sort of chap who isn’t shy of admitting to his mistakes and who says a potential president can’t have a looming trial? He almost strikes me as my current mayor Ken Livingstone. He’s the ordinary Londoner who just happens to run London. Maybe South Africa could benefit from the ordinary South African, who just happens to run the country. But will JZ's shady past cloud the dreams and aspirations of a young country?
