This year has already shaped-up as an exceptionally unusual one in politics. It is perhaps not as much a Tale of Two Cities as a tale of two different parties if one considers the purges that have taken place within the ANC and how differently and unpredictably it is behaving in some respects.

Even the tone and engagement in the National Assembly appears to be shifting under new leadership.

Little huddles of MPs giving one another comfort and busily having animated discussions attest to the fact that it is indeed business unusual on many fronts politically. The post-Polokwane dust-devils still whirl around madly in the hallowed halls of power.

Business unusual in SA politics saw ANC president Jacob Zuma, not Thabo Mbeki, deliver the January 8 statement; the new ANC leadership in meetings with Cabinet to match Polokwane resolutions with the government's plan of action; and party bombshells (the dissolution of the Scorpions) being arrogantly dropped in parliament.

Parliament was taken to a new low of being expected to rubberstamp ANC party decisions irrespective of Section 59 of the Constitution.

Business unusual was also in display as the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) decided to re-look at the arms deal and its 14th and 15th reports - a step that will need to be closely watched, given the continued Scopa membership of the ANC's procedural "terrorist-in-chief" and main filibuster during the last Scopa efforts, ANC MP Vincent Smith.

This year's State of the Nation debate, and especially Mbeki's reply to the debate, was uncharacteristically frank. More than ever before, Mbeki attempted to explain some of his actions.

While the reply was in a slightly hurt yet disdainful tone, the explanations do highlight the notion that the president has felt the heat emanating from some of his more controversial decisions.

But what were some of the more pertinent questions that arose with respect to the president's actions, both inside and outside the confines of parliament this week?

Firstly, the president left the dirty job on formally beheading the Scorpions to his Safety and Security Minister to announce.

While it has been couched in terms of a broad overhaul of the criminal justice system, this is potentially mere cosmetic stage theatrics to hide the real purpose of removing the crucial link between investigators and prosecutors that formed the bedrock of the unit's success. We must never forget that this unit was created in its current form after extensive studies of alternative systems, including the US's FBI, and that it was touted then as the country's convincing answer to organised crime.

A glance at the speeches of that time confirms this. So what has changed? Transnational organised crime existed in all its sophistication when the Scorpions were formed and a new unit will need convincing arguments that will be checked meticulously against the justifications for the formation of the Scorpions to see what has changed beyond the guard in the ruling party.

Furthermore, the noises made in the president's reply, of future links with organised crime-fighting units in the SAPS, customs and intelligence services - announced in his reply to the debate - may signal a meek effort to try and fight for some capacity to remain despite the ANC resolution.

But the devil will be in the detail of the legislation that is expected on this matter.

On the Scorpions, parliament must rise to the challenge and reassert itself, insist on a robust public participation process in terms of Section 59.

In light of the Constitutional Court's rulings on such aspects of public participation processes following the Matatiele and Khutsong messes, parliament must ensure that the great public anger at the demise of the Scorpions is heard and aired.

While the president has vigorously sought to explain many of his actions, and sought to painstakingly extricate himself from the mess around his role in the matter of the National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi and the suspension of National Prosecuting Authority head Vusi Pikoli in the reply, his efforts to hide behind the procedures of the NPA Act and the Ginwala Commission will cost him dearly if he persists.

He must make a full submission to the commission detailing in an exact time-line of what he knew when and what actions the presidency took accordingly to assist the Scorpions with the unprecedented challenge of having to charge a national police commissioner. For the president can be certain that Pikoli's legal team will include such a time-line to bolster their case, having seen the Scorpions' affidavits in the Selebi case.

But the heat was not only being turned on the president in parliament. It came from all directions.

MDC-faction leader Morgan Tsvangirai launched a scathing attack on Mbeki's "quiet support" for Robert Mugabe and MDC leaders met with the ANC NEC.

This was a particularly painful blow given the centre-piece status Mbeki gave to his role in concluding a "successful" mediation process in Zimbabwe in his State of the Nation speech.

The MDC obviously thinks very little of Mbeki's mediation efforts and South Africans must prepare themselves to watch our neighbours in Zimbabwe go through yet another election possibly marred by massive civil rights violations, if not human rights violations, prior to the elections in March. Recently it was reported that South Africa's former envoy to France during the Strategic Defence Procurement years, Barbara Masekela, said that Mbeki had met (as then Deputy President of the Republic chairing an inter-Ministerial Committee tasked with the procurement) with French arms company Thompson CSF (Thales/Thint) despite telling parliament that he could not recall such a meeting.

Though the former envoy referred to the meeting as a "courtesy call", it was unusual in the context of procurement and the president has probably misled parliament on this matter.

It is yet another action that requires explanation. It is particularly necessary to explain it given that it is the very same company that will be joining Zuma as a co-accused in the new court case set down for August this year.

Political business unusual also saw the ANC's two centres of power doing very different things.

While the Scorpions are on the proverbial institutional back foot, parliament is conducting the most important national debate of the year and our power crisis keeps making bad news headlines in internationally influential titles such as the Financial Times, Zuma appears to have other priorities.

While Mbeki was battling the debating fires as head of state, the head of the party was elsewhere. And he was not taking care of party business. Instead of focusing on these matters of national concern at a crucial and challenging time, when Eskom may face an investment grade-rating downgrade, he is taking care of personal business.

The new ANC president was in Mauritius focusing on evidence against him - the subject of his litigation before the Constitutional Court and the outcome of a Supreme Court of Appeal process that found against him and his legal team in a majority decision.

For those who thought 2007 was a demanding period, 2008 is shaping to up to be even more gruelling.

Raenette Taljaard is the director of the Helen Suzman Foundation.

With acknowledgements to Raenette Taljaard and Cape Argus.