The Times *Is Vavi divorcing Nzimande?* /It seems the Left's premier political couple have fallen out/ *S'Thembiso Msomi, The Times, Johannesburg, 27 October 2010*Are we witnessing the beginning of a break-up between Zwelinzima Vavi and Blade Nzimande?
The Political Command is not one of those gossip columns concerned with putting the lives of our celebrity couples under constant public scrutiny.
But certain statements and developments over the past few months have left me wondering if all is well with the famous political couple that, alongside the ANC Youth League, played a central role in delivering the presidency to Jacob Zuma.
You should have seen them, Vavi and Nzimande, on the wooden pavilion at the Union Buildings that rainy Saturday of May 9 last year when Msholozi was inaugurated as head of state.
The moment the then chief justice, Pius Langa, completed the process of swearing in Zuma, the pair, their wives and publicist Ranjeni Munusamy shared brief but intense and tearful hugs.
Their faces beamed with the type of pride and joy one often sees on the faces of a couple who has just brought a new life to Earth.
Like excited new parents, they didn't tire in the weeks that followed telling of the trials and tribulations they had laboured through to deliver a Zuma presidency.
Over the years, the Cosatu general secretary and the SA Communist Party leader have become so politically inseparable that it is often taken for granted that the views expressed by the one enjoy the unqualified support of the other.
With good reason too, because throughout their tenure at the helm of their respective organisations, Cosatu and the Communist Party have tended to speak with one voice - whether on the political crisis in Zimbabwe, former president Thabo Mbeki's stance on HIV and Aids or the country's economic policies.
In a period stretching over a decade, the only real and public difference between the two has been Nzimande's lack of judgment on matters relating to local football. He is fanatical about Orlando Pirates while Vavi supports the mighty Kaizer Chiefs.
But there are now signs that, since Nzimande abandoned his full-time job at Cosatu House as the Communist Party general secretary to take up a post as minister of higher education in Zuma's cabinet, the two leftists are rapidly growing apart.
Though it has become custom over the years for Vavi to rail against the excesses of the ANC elite and the failures of the government, his recent and systematic attacks on the Communist Party suggest a growing frustration with its leader.
This past weekend, speaking at a ceremony in Queenstown, Eastern Cape, to celebrate the life of the late and iconic communist leader Chris Hani, Vavi had this to say about the state of the communist party :
"I suspect that Hani would have been worried that the party leaders have left SACP offices to be MPs, MPLs and ministers. He wouldmobilise workers to provide resources that will ensure the SACP has a capacity to play its vanguard role."
In mid-August, at a Ruth First Memorial lecture organised by Wits University, Vavi told the audience that the late communist journalist would "ask where her SACP is" and "why it has not led a united working class" in the struggle against corruption and exploitative economic policies.
The two statements are a clear indication that Vavi is unhappy with his buddy's role in government.
In case you are still not convinced that the two have fallen out, Cosatu has convened a two-day civil s ociety c onference, which starts today in Boksburg, and the Communist Party is not invited. Just a year ago, this would have never happened.
Indeed in the past, Vavi would not release any policy document for public consumption, without first running it past his comrades at the Communist Party. Today the two organisations appear to be charting different paths on most of the topical issues - be it the proposed media appeals tribunal, the Protection of Information Bill or Nzimande's apparent aversion to criticising Zuma.
Since Vavi's announcement that he will be stepping down in 2012 from the Cosatu post he would have held for 13 years, the general view has been he has his eye set on one of the top six leadership positions in the ANC.
But this might be a bridge too far for the Cosatu leader in 2012, considering that he has never served on any of the ANC's senior structures - and the ruling party is a stickler for organisational hierarchy.
If Vavi has long-term ambitions for higher office, he would probably have to start out as an ordinary member of the ruling party's national executive committee.
Somehow it is hard to imagine Vavi in a low-key leadership role.Hence my suspicion he'll go for the next best thing in 2012 - challenge his erstwhile partner for the Communist Party general secretary job.
*From: http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/columnists/article728619.ece/Is-Vavi-divorcing-Nzimande*
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