Mbeki falls away
This really is a sad, sad end for Thabo Mbeki, a once-proud international leader now reduced to the stature of a naughty pet no-one wants around. Over the weekend, the SACP failed in its bid to have Mbeki removed from office at the ANC conference, but more because that nobody seemed to think he was a real threat to their interests anyway. We also heard this weekend that Mbeki is being publicly castigated for refusal to heed the advice of two appointed judges that the 2002 Zimbabwean election was rigged. International affairs was all the Mbeki had left, and its rapidly being stripped away. If you think that it was coincidental that these allegations surfaced this weekend, think again.

Looking forward, of some concern for Motlanthe is him losing the fight to stay within the ANC rather than be sent to Mbeki's Cabinet. If Motlanthe is to make a run for the presidency whilst Zuma is caught up in the graft trial later this year, he needs to be able to be on the ground, not stuck being a spy in Mbeki's cabinet. No wonder he's not that happy about it...