JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Used to shrugging off jokes and criticism, outspoken South African youth leader Julius Malema will not be deterred for long by censure from the ruling ANC for taking his racial rhetoric too far.
While opponents mock his style and background, Malema has emerged as one of the highest profile political figures in South Africa and a noisy mouthpiece for a swathe of the black majority that feels not enough has changed since the end of apartheid.
The leadership of the African National Congress is now discussing measures against Malema, 29, for bringing the party into disrepute.
"A person of this political skill and focus is not going to be wiped off the face of the political realm because of a setback like this," said independent analyst Nic Borain.
Malema never shied from confrontation over his call for nationalising mines, quarrels with the ANC's political partners or above all race -- which he has put at the forefront of the political debate in a way unknown since apartheid.
He went too far by defying a party order to pipe down after the murder of white separatist Eugene Terre'blanche, breaking from the official line on Zimbabwe and driving a British reporter from a news conference while calling him a bastard with a "white tendency".
The party of Nelson Mandela, particularly conscious of the image of the "Rainbow Nation" as the World Cup approaches in June, looks set to haul Malema over the coals. Privately, it will be loath to banish someone with such a following.
"We need people like that because he says what we are thinking," said minibus taxi driver John Dube.
Malema was only 13 when white minority rule ended. He joined the ANC at the age of nine and says that as a youth activist he learned how to handle weapons in his township in the northeastern Limpopo province.
SHARED ORIGINS
Like President Jacob Zuma, Malema is the son of a housemaid. The youth leader once proclaimed his readiness to "kill for" Zuma.
Political analysts said Malema and the Youth League, which he has headed since 2008, served Zuma as a counterweight to restive communist and union allies, but Malema drew a sharp rebuke from Zuma when he went too far.
In disciplining Malema, Zuma may also want to show that he is not beholden to him.
A party insider called him a "liability and a loose cannon".
Malema has become the butt of jokes for his poor academic record in high school and questions have been raised over how he has managed to amass personal wealth so quickly -- he has a house in a plush neighbourhood and drives in expensive cars.
But he enjoys widespread support within the 600,000 member Youth League and further afield among black youths who believe 16 years of democracy should have delivered more.
It is not only among unemployed youths.
University students have treated him like a rock star during campus visits.
They chorused the liberation-era song with the words "Kill the Boer" (Afrikaans for farmer), which got Malema into trouble when he said he would keep singing it despite a court ruling and an ANC ban over fears it was stoking racial tensions.
"We haven't spoken bluntly about exactly how we feel about race issues and class differences," said university student Pokuaa Busumru-Baenson.
"Causing a stir and creating an opening for people to talk is definitely a positive thing."
Whether Malema will need to adjust his style is another matter. The ANC bigwigs may want to ensure he does not cause so much offence in a role as party youth leader that was once held by Mandela himself.
"The radicalism of the ANC of the past has been based on substance," said Prince Mashele, executive director of the Centre for Politics and Research.
"It is not the kind of radicalism that is based on disrespect and insulting people," he said.
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