A behind-closed-doors top level toenadering of opposition parties is under way - and it could lead to the formation of a new political front.
The Weekend Argus can now reveal details of ongoing talks between the leaders of the Congress of the People (COPE), the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Independent Democrats (ID) and the United Democratic Movement (UDM).
Although the talks - described as taking place on both an informal and formal basis - have been kept under wraps for months, DA leader Helen Zille yesterday gave the first indication of how serious the process was.
Other party leaders also confirmed with Weekend Argus that they were awaiting a meeting of the parties' leaders to formalise a new relationship.
Speaking in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, Zille said she was committed to a realignment of politics in South Africa to create "a political vehicle" capable of challenging the ANC at the polls - and so were the leaders of other significant opposition parties.
"The DA remains committed to exploring the possibilities for realignment and the formation of a new political force in our politics.
"If together we succeed, the winners will be the people of South Africa, who will be offered a meaningful choice of prospective governments animated by different visions and competing policy platforms," Zille said.
Zille, who is the Western Cape's premier, spoke of the DA's gains in the April election as proof of her party's ability to make inroads into the support base of the ANC - the DA displaced the ANC as the ruling party in the Western Cape - and noted the success of Cope, having established itself under difficult circumstances.
Zille identified the key areas in which the opposition could find common ground as commitment to the constitution; the transformation of South Africa to offer opportunities to everyone; a market-driven economy to ensure growth, opportunity and delivery and a safety net for those unable to care for themselves.
"Both parties (the DA and Cope) have the potential to keep growing and get stronger, while other, smaller opposition parties like the ID and the UDM seem to share key elements of the vision outlined above," Zille said.
The DA clinched 16.66 percent of the vote countrywide, while Cope received 7.42 percent.
Together with the ID and UDM (just under one percent), such a front could muster just over a quarter of electoral support.
The development of a joint platform would be of great significance in the local government elections of 2011.
ID leader Patricia de Lille on Saturday confirmed that there had been informal talks and said a meeting of party leaders to formalise these was expected "in the next week or two".
De Lille said the ID had begun the process after a national executive meeting in May.
Areas of co-operation would include pro-poor and pro-transformation policies in a formation that would not just be anti-ANC.
"What is urgent now is the meeting of leaders... the formal talks must now get underway in earnest," De Lille said.
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said the time was ripe for opposition political party leaders to meet soon to decide "if there is a mind to co-operate and how to do it".
He identified areas of interest as local government and the next election.
"Everybody has been saying: 'We need to have a strong alternative'. Let's see."
Cope communications head Philip Dexter yesterday said discussions on mutual areas of interest had begun soon after his party's national convention in December last year.
"Our intention... is to really try and find a common agenda around crucial challenges facing the country," he said, saying this included service delivery, public health, education and the impact of the global financial crisis.
Dexter, who is understood to be an important mover in getting the parties together, described the discussions as "healthy, constructive engagement" and as "serious", but said there was no stated timeframe to formalise agreements, as the focus was on common values, vision and agreed issues.
"There is no clock ticking, there's no bell ringing, (there's) no artificially forcing people into an arrangement... but don't rule out that there will be something like that," Dexter said.
In her speech Zille similarly emphasised that there was no rush. In a reference to the ill- fated merger of the then
Democratic Party and the New National Party - which led to the introduction of the defection laws so the NNP could join the ANC - she said a future opposition alliance would not be a "shotgun marriage".
The DA already enjoys working partnerships with the ID in many municipalities in the Western Cape.
The UDM, like the ID, is part of the ruling alliance in the City of Cape Town.
Meanwhile, Cope has downplayed claims of ongoing leadership battles within its ranks.
DA strategist Ryan Coetzee, who is understood to be a key player in the toenadering process, on Saturday said the DA and COPE could in all likelihood find sufficient common ground, "but we must fundamentally change the political landscape".
