Despite PW Botha’s warning, Barnard - like so many others - was mesmerised by Mandela and regarded him - and treated him - almost from their first meeting as the President-in-waiting. The defining ...

So either John Vorster or PW Botha would have had to impose such a solution. And they would have had to prepare the ground for it by spelling out the unvarnished truth to their reluctant electorate.