Should the splintered opposition in South Africa join forces to take on the mighty ANC? An enthusiastic Alan Cameron takes on a more cynical Ryan Bubear...

Alan Cameron reckons that if South Africa ever hopes to emulate mature democracies, it needs two strong parties.

"Do you hear that Mr Anderson? That is the sound of inevitability," said Agent Smith.

Should the South African opposition political parties unite? Yes.

When you queued on 22 April to make your mark you were presented with a multitude of parties to for which to vote. A sign of a vibrant young democracy — many parties that each believe they know how to make tomorrow better.

Please. Rather it is a sign of an inexperienced democracy whose people suffer under the illusion that proportional political representation is fair, right and more effective than a two-party political system.

Where does a multi-party opposition system leave us? It abandons voters under a chorus of voices in Parliament whose discord is heard in their inefficiency and selfishness as they are played up against one another while trying to flirt for favour from the ruling party.

Opposition parties in South Africa should get over their fear of the unknown and realise that uniting into a single, strong and clear voice against the ruling party would make them powerful and give them more room to muscle in and achieve their election promises.

Diverse opinion within an opposition party is the fire on which its resilience and relevance is forged. Opinions and their impact don’t get diluted just because there are more of them. Differences would force issues to be examined vigorously and ensure more people benefit from the actions of the party. Wisdom coming from different personal backgrounds would also benefit the party as each party works together to achieve the same result.

There is a reason why the opposition parties in the two most influential western democracies have each ruled during the past decade. Each side knows how valuable being at the top is, and the competition builds a more transparent government.

What more can be the goal of an opposition party but to be voted into power? The practice seen in South African halls of parliament is this: divided they fall. The fear of being manipulated by the ANC is real — but parties need to stand up to the fact of their growing individual irrelevance. And the key to standing is this: to do it united.

Ryan Bubear reckons that this shotgun wedding will be headed for divorce court before the honeymoon is over...

The proposed merger of certain parties, with the intended formation of a 'super-opposition' to vaporise the ruling ANC, is tragically flawed.

With South Africa's political landscape littered with reports of in-party squabbles, how on earth could the assimilation of four (or more) distinctly different parties into one even be put forward as a viable proposition?

Cope, the scene of more power struggles than your average Russian mafia, failed horribly in its attempt to display a unified front. Throw even more personalities into the mix, and ask yourself this question: how could such a mongrel ever hope to survive?

The task of aligning the values, vision and policies of a handful of contrasting parties would be utterly unachievable. Bickering over topics like economic policies, land reform and even religion would become commonplace in what would be an artificial amalgamation. Lack of agreement on overarching principles would soon make the situation untenable.

Furthermore, the egos punctuating this country's politics are simply too large to co-exist on the same platform. Cliques would form and power struggles would become the norm. How would a leader be chosen?

From the voter's point of view, there is also plenty to be lost.

If opposition parties did indeed magically put aside their marked differences and merge, the power of multi-party democracy would be lost in a country which prides itself on freedom of choice and diversity.

The voter would be presented with a pair of polarised political viewpoints, with no grey area at all, and an effective two-party system would have been created. And world history tells us that the 'either or' vote has rarely worked well.

The voter would be hijacked of choice, and faithful supporters could end up abstaining in protest.

The perspective of individual parties has to be considered too.

With the DA enjoying increased support in the 2009 general elections, while wresting control of the Western Cape from the ANC, would it really be of benefit to merge with parties boasting only single-figure percentages in terms of national votes?

The only people who would stand a chance of gaining from a merger would be the leaders of ailing minority parties who would otherwise be kicked onto the political scrapheap.

The ID and the UDM each struggled to pull one percent at the polls in 2009. ID leader Patricia De Lille's vote had hardly hit the bottom of the ballot box and she was calling for a merger. So for someone in her position, it may well be a case of 'merge or die'.

In essence, the common goal of unseating the ANC is nowhere near enough to truly unite opposition parties.

And if insanity prevails and this shotgun wedding does indeed take place, the resulting marriage would be destined for divorce court.

Do you agree with Alan or Ryan? Share your thoughts below!

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