WE DO not envy President Jacob Zuma's position as he prepares to deliver his first state of the nation address.

WE DO not envy President Jacob Zuma's position as he prepares to deliver his first state of the nation address.

To mix the metaphors, President Zuma's address comes at the best and the worst of times as well as amid great expectations.

It is the best of times because the mood in the country is generally buoyant. The millions who voted for the ANC and indirectly for Zuma believe that in Msholozi they are entitled to hope that they have a man who knows their plight and will do something about it.

He will walk into Parliament a president because the workers and the leftists, more than any constituency, ensured that he does.

It is the worst of times because the economy has shrunk in the last two quarters signaling a recession and with it little prospects of new jobs. These are also the times when the world economy is on the ropes which means that we can expect very little from the donor community.

Zuma's supporters and sponsors have created an impression that he is the saviour that South Africa has been waiting for.

Capital, promised that there will be little changes to ANC policy under the present administration, will similarly believe that the kind donations they made to the party's election war-chest must count for something.

But if there is anything that we must have learnt from Zuma by now, it is that the man has a knack of getting himself out of tricky situations with great aplomb. We hope he does not disappoint.