Motlanthe the Compromise Candidate
An idea being circulated at present is that ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe takes over the presidency of the ANC at this year's AGM, thus buying time for the Zuma presidential debate and diffusing the impending blowup at the AGM.

Personally, I think this would be a great idea. As far as we can tell, Motlanthe holds few presidential ambitions, but is well respected within the ANC as a fair and judicious leader. He has some solid traction within the left and could be seen as a solid "anybody but Zuma" candidate for the Mbeki-ites. This then would let some much-needed air out of the bursting succession debate and allow for more effective positioning of candidates before 2009.