A red carpet, brisk military parades and a 21-gun salute: the State of the Nation Address (Sona) is a high point in South Africa's political calendar every year.

Days before this year, too, military machines were humming over Cape Town for training purposes.

Schools closed earlier because downtown streets were closed.

And like every year, there was a parade of political high society, who presented themselves to the cameras in elegant robes and traditional African costumes in bright sunshine.

Claudia Bröll

Freelance Africa correspondent based in Cape Town.

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However, the spectacle that traditionally opens the parliamentary season was different this year.

Because of the parliamentary fire at the beginning of the year, the President did not give his speech in the National Assembly for the first time, but in the old Cape Town City Hall.

Nelson Mandela gave his first speech there in 1990, a few hours after his release from prison. A statue on the balcony commemorates it today.

Nevertheless, some in the national governing party ANC have moved to the historic site rather reluctantly.

That was less due to the building than to the landlord.

Cape Town has been run by the national opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA) since 1994, which is also widely considered a 'white' party, and Cape Town has a 'white' mayor.

"The fire in Parliament was symbolic for many"

Such sensitivities were forgotten Thursday night as MPs, ministers, former President Thabo Mbeki and other dignitaries crowded into the stands.

Even the members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, which caused a tumult in Parliament during Jacob Zuma's presidency, remained unusually quiet.

For Ramaphosa, it was the first major appearance in the election campaign, which was already in full swing.

At the end of the year the ANC party conference takes place, where he again has to stand for election as chairman.

If he retains the party leadership, the path to another term as president after the 2024 parliamentary elections could be paved.

But not only within his own party is Ramaphosa,

whose assumption of office in 2018 had triggered a “Ramaphoria” was under a lot of pressure.

He has a reputation for delaying reforms so as not to divide the ANC and lose support within the party.

The balancing act was also evident in the speech.

He made no secret of the crisis in the country.

"For many, the fire in Parliament was symbolic of the devastation caused by the corona pandemic, rising unemployment, worsening poverty and the high level of inequality in our country." He also recalled the serious unrest in July last year, during which more than 300 people lost their lives and quoted his predecessor Mbeki: "Difficult times require courage and resilience." In the fight against corruption and in restoring trust in the state, everyone must now stand together.

Such sentences were reminiscent of earlier speeches, terms such as "social union" and "consensus" were repeatedly used, even if this time Ramaphosa made a "new consensus" out of it.