The last white President and the man likely to be the first black President of South Africa met tonight in the first public debate of their uneasy, four-year partnership, an event that was less the highlight of an election campaign than a glimpse of the next Government.

The last white President and the man likely to be the first black President of South Africa met in the first public debate of their uneasy, four-year partnership, an event that was less the highlight of an election campaign than a glimpse of the next government and a taste of South Africa's first-ever democratic elections.