Motlanthe hands McKaiser a lesson in politics

Kgalema Motlanthe

Kgalema Motlanthe

Published Sep 24, 2017

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A morning drive on the R21 towards Tshwane passing the airport can be a test of wits and gusto, given the bustling traffic. The morning scorching sun compounds the feeling of haplessness as traffic freezes and unfreezes at intermittent intervals. It is in such circumstances that one admires motorcyclists’ agile ease of navigating the traffic gridlock.

The radio offers relief and companionship by affording one a sense of escapism in these circumstances. Moving from one radio station to the other becomes a panacea to the traffic nightmare that the Johannesburg traffic can impose on motorists.

Radio 702, the SABC’s Morning Live and Power FM become the usual stopovers in this lonesome sojourn.

On Wednesday mid-morning, I stumbled onto an interview that 702’s Eusebius McKaiser was conducting with Kgalema Motlanthe. By the time I tuned in, the voice of Motlanthe could be heard with his usual measured trademark. The show was by then advancing towards its crescendo.

Motlanthe was addressing the state of the ANC and what, in his view, had gone wrong. He bemoaned the current state of a bloated NEC and impugned that this, in his view, was answerable for the reduction of the relationship of cadreship to that of employer and employee between NEC members and the president.

Motlanthe went to great lengths, even against what he regarded as accepted convention, of not critiquing the current leadership. He emptied his chest of what he regarded as the fault-lines in the ANC. He answered a few questions and referred listeners to his organisational report that he presented at the Polokwane conference.

What drew my ire was not so much the questioning or interrogating style that has become McKaiser’s trademark, but by the repeated insistence on extracting a particular answer from a guarded interviewee.

The question was asked of Motlanthe as to whether, given his critique of his own organisation, he would vote for the ANC in the next election. This was a sequential and normative question, given the build-up of the narrative.

The answer to this question rested on the interviewee giving his moral judgement on the facts that he had proffered. Motlanthe rejoined that, notwithstanding his criticism, he would still vote for the ANC in any election.

This answer drew McKaiser’s rabid irritation and he failed to concealed his disgust at this. His subjectivity was palpable and he came out of the woodwork, menacingly yielding a machete at Motlanthe.

Let us for a second imagine, had Motlanthe answered in the affirmative, that that would have been the biggest coup for the opposition thanks to the McKaiser show.

His ratings would have skyrocketed and the news clip would be quoted by all media for days.

Follow-up interviews with Motlanthe would have been lined up for more details and more exposés as the ANC heads for its conference.

The talk show host’s dream would have come true. Alas! the gods had other designs on that day and were not in favour of the loquacious one.

Inasmuch as Motlanthe is critical of the ANC and has aired some of its dirty linen in public, he denied McKaiser the laurels of pomp that would have ordinarily followed his affirmative answer. McKaiser saw the moment of glory slipping through his fingers and broke into a fit of anger with unconcealable hurt.

With radio one has to imagine the presenter and the mood in the studio. I imagined an upset McKaiser seated in his chair and making turns in various positions to cajole and intimidate the interviewee.

The language could not conceal the body language oozing irritation and annoyance.

Motlanthe could not indulge him and refused to accede to his designs, thus depriving him of the much-vaunted jewel. McKaiser displayed what in historical theory is termed “unavoidable subjectivity”.

It does not follow that because Motlanthe is critical of the ANC he will denounce it.

This assumed Aristotelian syllogism is warped, untenable and misplaced. It is informed by and emanates from a scant comprehension of the liberation movement’s history, culture , dynamics, and the ties that bind its members. The ties that bind run too deep for the comprehension of McKaiser and his ilk.

* ka Plaatjie is ANC head of Research and adviser to Lindiwe Sisulu.

** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.

The Sunday Independent

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