FREEDOM FRONT PLUS YOUTH LEADER BARELY HANGING ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRETORIA 001103 SIPDIS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KDEM ASEC SF PGOV SUBJECT: FREEDOM FRONT PLUS YOUTH LEADER BARELY HANGING ON TO POSITION REF: PRETORIA 000666 PRETORIA 00001103 001.2 OF 002 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Freedom Front Plus Youth League leader Cornelius van Rensburg offered his version of why he was suspended after criticizing party leader Pieter Mulder's decision to join President Jacob Zuma's Cabinet on May 10. Van Rensburg sees little hope for resuming his position -- he has retained a lawyer -- but his comments demonstrate why he is more than the ill-disciplined firebrand portrayed in the media. End Summary. -------------- Speaking Out Has its Costs -------------- ¶2. (SBU) FFP Youth League leader van Rensburg met with Poloffs on May 29 to discuss his future in the party. Van Rensburg last month was suspended by party leadership for speaking out publicly against FFP President Mulder's decision to join Zuma's Cabinet. (Note: Mulder opted to serve as the Deputy Agricultural Minister in Zuma's Cabinet. Before the April 22 election, Post reported that the Freedom Front was considering a strategic alliance with the African National Congress. See Reftel for more information. End Note). Van Rensburg firmly reiterated his claim that Mulder did not discuss with the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) his plan to join the government before announcing his decision. Van Rensburg said, "I have been on the (party's) NEC since I was elected as a Tshwane city councilor in 2006. There was never a meeting to discuss his (Mulder's) decision or a telephone conversation. There was nothing." He noted that Mulder's decision was based on his desire to secure a pension, not based on what is best for the FFP politically. Van Rensburg claimed, "Zuma's people had been courting him for months and he caved to better his financial situation." ¶3. (SBU) Van Rensburg, who has been described as the "Afrikaner Julius Malema" for his willingness to speak out without consulting party leadership, said it is sad that "in African politics one cannot speak without first consulting with the tribal chief." He noted that Mulder went to the National Executive Committee on May 23 to ensure that the party's earlier decision (taken on May 11) to censure him would be upheld. The FFP's NEC subsequently upheld the decision, and he described his chances as "slim" for resuming as the party's youth leader. He stated, "I have organized legal representation so I can protect my political position and my reputation ... It is the best I can do." -------------- A Glimpse Inside An Afrikaner Political Party -------------- ¶4. (SBU) On the margins of his comments on his recent struggles, van Rensburg offered a rare glimpse into life inside the Afrikaner community's largest political body. The FFP met once a week during the election campaign to discuss strategies and plans for winning new voters and ensuring voter turnout for the party's registered voters. He said that now that the election is over, the FFP is meeting once every few weeks to discuss plans for the local election in ¶2011. Although his suspension has kept him from attending those meetings, van Rensburg said there are real divisions being worked out internally about where the FFP needs to go to ensure positive results in the municipal poll. He said, Qto ensure positive results in the municipal poll. He said, "There are those in the party who want to see us beholden to our farming roots and those in the party, including myself, who recognize that we need metro representation to survive 21st century South African politics." In many ways, he thinks his suspension is a part of this tension. ¶5. (SBU) He also thinks that his remarks have given an opening to those seeking to settle old scores. He claimed, "The party members going after me the hardest right now are those guys associated with the University of the Free State." According to him, "those guys" are youth leaders who played a role in the aftermath of a 2007 incident at the University of the Free State where white students videotaped demeaning PRETORIA 00001103 002.2 OF 002 acts conducted against black university employees. The videotape was viewed across the world online. He said, "As the youth leader then, I came down hard on the university branch of our party for not acting quickly enough to denounce the situation there. I criticized their statements and actions following the incident and they now see my censure as a way to get payback." He warned that should the youth leaders from the University of the Free State get the upper hand following his cenure and assume greater representation in the party, the FFP will be finished. He said, "We should be focused on winning support in Cape Town, Pretoria, and greater Gauteng, not worried about what some right-wing young people think in Bloemfontein." ¶6. (SBU) He stated that it is ironic that Mulder's decision to accept a Cabinet position is "good in the sense that he cannot be both the FFP's parliamentary leader and a minister at the same time." With Mulder probably spending more time in Pretoria than in Cape Town, van Rensburg sees junior parliamentary member William Spies assuming a greater role in the party. Van Rensburg said, "Nothing could be better because Spies is a new face and can help us grow." According to van Rensburg, the FFP will always be popular on university campuses -- now more than ever that Blade Nzimande is Minister for Higher Education -- but needs to target the young and newly employed to stay relevant. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Although it appears increasingly unlikely that van Rensburg will return as the FFP's youth leader, his private comments show that he is more than another Malema. He has serious ideas about why Mulder's decision to accept a Cabinet position was not in the best interest of the party and about where the party needs to go to remain a viable voice for the Afrikaner in the 21st century. The old apartheid era National Party leadership collectively joined the African National Congress years ago, leaving the FFP as the sole independent voice of the Afrikaner community. Zuma,s outreach to that community -- including Mulder,s appointment -- has apparently paid dividends for the ANC and also opened debate regarding the future of that white community during the next phase of the ANC,s transformation policies. Such ideas will need further debate within the party and, ultimately, implementation beyond Mulder to help the party at the municipal level in 2011. LA LIME