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00:00A calm start to the first session of Parliament post the 7th National Democratic Elections
00:06held on 29 May in South Africa.
00:09The official opposition party, the DA, today confirming it is part of the Government of
00:12National Unity, has also confirmed the PA, while the IFP confirmed earlier this week.
00:19And while the way forward is clear enough for South Africa, as the DA's advisor Tony
00:23Leon says, there could be obstacles.
00:26Close optimism is the watchword.
00:28And whether it's more caution or more optimism will be determined.
00:33Because what's happened now is really just a framework, but what's going to happen is
00:41how the parties behave towards each other.
00:44South Africa has only had two years of power sharing ever, between 1994 and 1996.
00:50That did not work out.
00:52We've just got to hope second time lucky.
00:55While analyst Lawson Naidoo is slightly more optimistic.
00:59Everybody can't be part of it because there has to be an agreement at some level, agreement
01:05on common principles and common vision.
01:07And some of the parties find themselves out of that framework and therefore are excluding
01:12themselves in a way.
01:14But it is going to create tension, but I think it will take some time for it to settle down
01:18because at the end of the day we need a good stable government, but we also need an opposition
01:24in parliament that keeps that government on its toes.
01:27And the IFP's Velenkosini Hlabisa raises another concern.
01:31No, no, no.
01:32I'm not expecting any unrest in Wazulu Natal because even yesterday the chief negotiator
01:38of the MK, Obamu Ntlego, confirmed that the discussions will be ongoing.
01:45Concerns about possible protests are not unfounded.
01:47There was at least one in Cape Town this morning, unhappy that the parliamentary sitting was
01:52going ahead as planned, despite Jacob Zuma's attempts to stop it.