Mmusi Maimane says he will never work with Julius Malema - and the EFF leader claims his DA counterpart will lead to his own party's demise.

The two young bucks of South African politics this week shared their views on each other in frank interviews with the Sunday Times.

DA leader Maimane accused the EFF's Malema of being a hypocrite who pretends to represent the poor by wearing red overalls in parliament while driving "fancy" cars and wearing expensive shoes when not in the House.

At the heart of the rivalry is the battle for the millions of black voters who have turned their backs on the ANC and are looking for a new political home.

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The DA's internal figures show that the party has pretty much stuck where it was in last year's general elections, at around 25%. The DA federal council was told last week that, according to the party' s information, the EFF has doubled its support to 12% of national votes.

Malema this week described Maimane as a poor leader and warned that the recent axing of DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard - for re-posting a Facebook message supporting apartheid president PW Botha - showed that Maimane would destroy the DA.

"He is very poor and he is going to compromise that DA. That's what gets me worried because the guy is going to lead to the DA declining and when the DA declines [the ANC] is going to gain.

"You must know the increase of the opposition is eating directly from the ANC. But Maimane is not a politician," said Malema.

The DA should not have fired Kohler Barnard, he said, because her sentiments were supported by most of her party's followers.

"The apartheid [post] of the lady, I think it was overexaggerated. To fire her would cost [the DA] more votes than to keep her because that is what makes them come together.

"That is what makes them who they are. The DA is a party of white racists who are refusing to accept the black rule.

"Now those racists are no longer going to support Maimane and that thing is going to collapse.

"For party politics of the DA, it is not in [Maimane's] best interest to have moved in that direction.

"I don't care about her. I was not shocked about her and her comment. The DA is voted for by white racists and they want to project themselves as democrats who have accepted a democratic outcome. No. They have not," Malema said.

The EFF leader said, however, he was keen to work with the DA where possible after next year's elections.

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The DA has its sights set on wresting the Nelson Mandela Bay metro from the ANC by winning an outright majority there next year, but indications are that it will not win more than 50% - obliging it to explore a coalition with other parties.

Malema said the EFF was ready to start coalition talks with any opposition party, including the DA.

"I heard Maimane saying: 'We're ready to work with the EFF.' I am saying to him: 'Let's talk. Put what you're offering on the table and we'll also put what we're offering on the table.'"

But Maimane was blunt about any prospect of working with the EFF.

"We don't stand for the same things.

"I think the better coalition would be between the ANC and the EFF because they believe the same things, effectively," Maimane said.

Despite this, DA and EFF leaders in Tshwane are said to be already engaged in informal talks about forming a coalition government after next year's local government elections.

Maimane's election as DA leader in May was seen as the party's attempt to attract traditional ANC voters - some of whom had turned to the EFF in search of an alternative - but he does not see himself as being in competition with just the EFF.

"I am in competition with the ANC/EFF alliance ... If you look at the politics of South Africa at the moment, the ANC and the EFF are both drawing out of the same policy space ... We must produce an alternative view and an alternative world for South Africans," he said.

He dismissed the EFF as a party whose influence is limited to only certain key areas, while the DA's electoral reach is national.

"When I look at our growth trajectory ... the majority of people who have joined the DA have been black South Africans.

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"Our growth is indicating that we are seeing great success in communities. That is why we are competing in Nelson Mandela Bay, Tshwane, Joburg, Western Cape and Tlokwe [in North West].

"We are clear who we are going for. We are going for people who hold our own values of freedom, fairness etcetera," he said.

Maimane said Malema's policies would be a disaster for the country.

"Is Julius the best thing for South Africa that we have seen? I don't believe so because I think there are some policies that are destructive.

"Is he sincere? Does it reconcile that you must wear red overalls and get into your fancy vehicles and have the most expensive shoes ... ?"

The two men still get along, though.

"Personally, Julius and I, we get along fine. I have no problem with him - we can go have a whisky together. I understand that his ideas and ideals are detrimental to South Africa and I don't believe he is sincere because there is hypocrisy infused." - Additional reporting by Jan-Jan Joubert

capazoriob@sundaytimes.co.za, shobas@sundaytimes.co.za