Joe Biden was heckled by Republicans during the US president’s State of the Union address this week. But that reception was warm compared with the one faced by his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation speech last night.
Ramaphosa faced a record number of interjections from the floor, as he declared a state of disaster amid rolling power cuts and a looming recession. With an election due in May 2024, this speech was Ramaphosa’s chance to set out why his ruling African National Congress (ANC), in power since the late Nelson Mandela was elected in 1994, deserves another five-year term. Things did not go well.
Julius Malema of the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which has called for Zimbabwe-style land seizures, raised endless points of order and caused the speaker to halt the president’s speech while decorum was restored. After being denied a constitutional right to interject by the speaker, Malema’s MPs sang, chanted and danced.
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