The Herald Editorial: Political alliances and mergers are almost inevitably problematic as the aborted attempt to unite the Democratic Party and New National Party proved to be.

However much the two entities may have essentially the same policies and principles as is the case with the Democratic Alliance and Independent Democrats, it is all but impossible to avoid the categorisation of one as "the victor" and the other "the vanquished" and for the stronger party – after having initially been generous in the allocation of party positions – reverting to an "us" and "them" mentality.

A decade after the formation of the DA that attitude still exists in the party with regard to former DP and NNP members.

It would be incorrect to equate the possible merger of the DA and ID with that of the DP and NNP. There are no past animosities in the current case and there is considerable common ground with regard to principles and policies rather than simply blind and obsessive opposition to the ANC as was the case with the DP and NNP. Neither is there a future battle looming for the leadership. But despite that many of the challenges the parties will face are not dissimilar.

ID leader Patricia de Lille is, however, a realist and has shown courage and political nous in recognising her party cannot compete against the DA. Both are seeking support from essentially the same constituency and the ID simply lacks the financial muscle and the organisational capacity to match Helen Zille’s party.

Given that truth, however unpalatable it might be, the choice lies between whether to soldier on or become part of a larger united opposition better able to challenge the ANC.

That De Lille and her party have elected to follow the latter path is indicative that ego politics have been jettisoned in favour of the development of a strong opposition and multi-party system and that commitment may prove invaluable in the future when inevitably tensions within the ranks of the former entities arise.

Post-merger, the real challenge will remain the same and while we accept Zille’s statement that progress has been made in expanding the support base of the party the scale is still decidedly limited, which means outside the Western Cape and possibly the Northern Cape power will remain out of reach of the opposition.

And with Cope’s slow disintegration, one avenue in which that might have been achieved appears to have been closed.