Once again the idea of a 'national dialogue' outside of elections is gaining currency in SA.

There have been repeated calls for such a process for many years, with a suggestion that South Africa's multipronged crisis is so bad that only a 'second Codesa' can fix it. Unfortunately, such an event is unlikely to happen -- and even if it does, it is difficult to believe it would change anything.

At the weekend, former president Thabo Mbeki again repeated his call for a national dialogue after the elections, with BusinessLIVE quoting him as saying, "The idea that there are some political parties, even the ANC, that have answers to all [SA's] problems is ... wrong. The people of SA must participate in a process of determining the future of this country."

He, and many others, have made this call in the past.

They have often been supported. In these pages, Omry Makgoale wrote that it was an "excellent" suggestion.

Many others might agree. They will point to the problems we faced in the 1990s, and how they were overcome through a long process of negotiation.

However, there are many obstacles facing such a process now.

Perhaps the most obvious is, who would do the negotiating? And who would they represent?

In 1990, it was fairly clear the apartheid government had to negotiate with the ANC. To this day, some believe the ANC was given too much power during this time, and that other groups which fought against apartheid were left out.

Of course, other parties were involved, including the IFP and others that still exist.

But, in the...