The EFF suffered major blows during the general elections last year, and the situation could get worse in 2026.
The EFF may have reverted to disruptive politics to punish President Cyril Ramaphosa for not defending the party during his meeting with US president Donald Trump in Washington earlier this month.
This is the view of Theo Neethling from the University of Free State (UFS)
In June 2024, during a press briefing in Cape Town, EFF leader Julius Malema said the outcomes of the general elections had left the party with no choice but to become meaningful contributors in parliament.
“This time around, we have taken a decision not to play any role in disrupting Parliament. We will be robust and engage to a point where we follow up on that which was rejected illegally in Parliament through peaceful protest on the streets,” he said.
However, all of this changed this week when at least 10 EFF MPs were reprimanded for disrupting Ramaphosa’s Q&A session at the Good Hope chambers.
They made spurious points of order and argued with the presiding officer, which almost led to the entire session collapsing.
Embarrassment in the White House
Theo Neethling said the EFF’s actions in parliament had a lot to do with the embarrassment the party had suffered in front of international media at the White House.
“I do believe what we saw in parliament has to do with what happened at the White House, the EFF was put on the spotlight [in front of Trump] and president Ramaphosa was in no position to defend the party and its leader.
“Julius Malema’s radicalism became the president’s embarrassment in the White House. John Steenhuisen also downplayed the EFF suggesting that they should never be part of the government of national unity.
“Mr. Johann Rupert also made a comment about their radicalism saying that he had been a victim of the EFF’s politics for a very long time.”
Malema had defended his right to sing the Kill Boer song. But Neethling said the EFF were the visible losers in the discussions that had taken place in Washington.
“They are going to seek ways of compensating for this loss of face, and we must keep in mind that they have recently lost a significant segment of their leaders, and that is a serious blow to their future,” he said.
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What does the EFF’s future look like?
Another political analyst, Dr Imraan Buccus, said the EFF has become known for their populist actions, but this kind of politics does not advance national interest.
“These Utopian views on political activism lack the strategy and foresight, and the ability to grasp the balance of forces in society, and do not therefore help the future of South Africa,” he said.
The EFF suffered major blows during the general elections last year, and Buccus predicted that the situation may get worse for the Red Berets during the local government elections next year.
“The EFF aims to attract the young vote 18 to 30 but the reality is that even though Malema remains popular in this cohort it does not translate electorally because young people here and internationally express political enthusiasm but often do not turn up at the polls,” he said.
Meanwhile parliament is expected to launch formal disciplinary proceedings into the conduct of EFF members during the president’s Q&A session.
The party is accused of denying South Africans the right to hear the president’s responses and of disturbing the work of parliament.
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