Against the Tide by Steven Friedman

A clause in the agreement setting up the coalition gives the ANC and DA a way out if they can't agree . It says a national dialogue will be started which will address the country's key problems. So, if the parties don't agree, they can say they are leaving it to the dialogue to decide what to do. But the country does need to address the legacies of the past which hold us back,  so citizens need to ensure that the dialogue becomes a way of doing that, whatever the politicians want it to be  

This is the view of my weekly Against the Tide column sent to subscribers this morning. To subscribe, please visit the Against the Tide website. To discuss a free or reduced subscription, please contact info@againstthetide.co.za

Steven Friedman is a public commentator and an academic, currently employed as a Research Professor at the University of Johannesburg. He has been writing on South African politics for the entire democratic period both as a scholar and public commentator. He has published books on South Africa’s transition to democracy, the role of the trade union movement, and current South African politics. He has also written columns and articles for several South African newspapers. His writing seeks to use academic research to shed light on current politics but to ensure that this is conveyed in a way easily understood by people who have no academic training.