Expectation From New Government

Yug  Bahadur

Much discussion is taking place among leaders, intellectuals and also in the media on how things will shape up after no single party has been able to garner a majority in the just held elections for the House of Representatives and provincial assemblies. The concentration has been mainly on the discussions and political parleys taking place between the top party leaders on should the present coalition continue with some additional individuals or on who will now lead the government.

All the traditional parties have one or more individuals who expect to lead the new government. Surprisingly, even some members of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, led by former TV anchorman Rabi Lamichhane, being a major force in the coming days, has not set aside such ambitions. But for once, Sundar Mani Dixit, a medical doctor by profession, who now is more well-known as a leader of the civil society and is ready at the fall of a hat in making political comments, has said it would be in the best interest of the fresh faces in the parliament to stay in the opposition and learn more about the ways of the parliamentary system of the country rather than join the government. 

Middle of the road

He is quite right, and when people say they want to see fresh faces, they don’t mean really ‘greenhorns’ to take over. This does not mean that the older faces who have led the country time and again should stay on forever, but some ‘middle of the road’ mature politician could take up the highest executive post in the country. But before we delve into this issue, we cannot help but point out some different aspects of Nepali politics from many other parts of the world. 

First of all, an individual must not be pushed to the background of politics just because he or she may be more than 70 years old. There are many other countries which have old leaders, including the most powerful nation of the world the United States of America (USA). The president there is almost 80 years old. The main thing is, as practised in most developed countries with a good political system, an individual must not be allowed to come back to power time and again for him or her to stick on to power for a long time like in many corrupt countries.

This does not mean that our own leaders should not be allowed to come to power for two or more times. But this should not be because of greed but because of the backing of the individual’s party which enjoys popularity among the people. The voters should also not be misled by misinformation that one person cannot become prime minister for several times. If an individual’s party becomes the biggest party in the House and this individual is also elected as the leader of the party in the parliament, then he or she has the right to become the prime minister. There is nothing others can do about it and that is the way a robust democracy functions. 

But like now, when there is a hung parliament, efforts must also be made to cobble together a cohesive group which can rule the country with strength and vision. Now, talking of the people, many had expressed their wish to see fresh faces in the House of Representatives, and most of them must be happy that their wishes have come true to some extent. Even experts had pointed out the need for the political parties to reform themselves and give themselves a new forward looking appearance, so there must surely be double happiness that not only have young and fresh faces been elected, but even new political forces have sprung up and come to the fore of national politics. 

However, a cynical critic questioned whether such swift popularity was some planned game of some powers within and outside the country. There is logic in asking such questions, but how the new leaders and the new parties will function will easily reveal in the coming years what is really true. But one thing is sure, these new political forces which are new to the parliamentary ways of the country, should show more vision than try just to act like local level leaders. These people have the responsibility of shaping up the future of the whole nation, not only one constituency or the other.

Another part is, just change of faces, tall promises, change in regulations or even the constitution are simply not enough. The decisions taken, whether short term ones or long term ones, must be implemented for the welfare of the nation and the economically hard-hit ordinary people. Otherwise, all such decisions will mean nothing. This holds true for the bigger traditional parties and the newer forces too.

Short-gap solution

The shortcomings we are constantly seeing for some decades now, in political leaders and also the administrators, is that they are seeking only for a short-gap solution for any problem that constantly comes up in the political sector, the economy and the society, among others. For now, the good part is that the huge political exercise of holding elections have gone off in a relatively peaceful manner, but a huge challenge still lies on the shoulders of the senior and newer faces who have been elected and now have the duty of guiding the nation.

Political bickering, greed for power or some posts, nepotism and disunity among the major parties will only make the nation chaotic, politically unstable, economically weaker and cause all round misery for all, especially the impoverished people who want to see a more easy lifestyle. Therefore, this is a time when real wisdom, patience and tolerance have to be shown so that the country passes the next five years with stability, a growing economy, a strong government with an alert opposition and much welfare and prosperity as expected by the people.

(Yug Bahadur is a freelancer.)