Bring Change To Nation

The then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK) Winston Churchill, in his speech in the House of Commons in November 1947, said, “Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Churchill’s statement does not match with words and spirit on two grounds. First, the word ‘worst’ he uses is more than bad. It carries a derogatory meaning which undermines the very political system. Second, if Churchill wanted to define democracy, he must have incorporated terms like ‘most uncertain game of greed and ambitions’ in it, because, in reality, democracy is the most uncertain game played by the ambitious and greedy leaders.

It is suitable in our context, too. The left alliance of the CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre had broken because of ‘greed’ for power. The Democratic-Left Alliance that included the CPN-Maoist Centre along with newly-formed CPN-Unified Socialist and the Nepali Congress has also collapsed. The UML has forged an alliance with the far-right Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). The Democratic-Left Alliance recently contested the elections for the federal and provincial legislatures with much enthusiasm. But the alliance failed to garner the desired outcomes. No political party, except for the newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), was happy with the poll results. 

However, the Democratic-Left Alliance was almost in a position to form a government at the centre. If the Nepali Congress and the Maoist Centre had succeeded to forge a power-sharing deal, there would have been a different outcome. But, the gerontocratic refused to give a chance to others, resulting in the collapse of the alliance. 

Apparently, the elements of greed and ambition hampered them in finding a win-win outcome. The political fraternity was taken aback when the Democrat-Left alliance fell apart. One may liken this case to the dissolution of the first Constituent Assembly on May 28, 2012. So, the ambitious move of Nepali leaders could not take their cue from the saying of Churchill. No sooner had the Democratic-Left Alliance collapsed than another alliance was formed. 

Ambition is the good quality of a person which makes him/her lively and helps one achieve the things s/he desires. An artist produces a masterpiece out of his/her ambition. An ambitious scientist devotes his/her whole life for a new invention which makes the life of all mankind easy. Likewise, if an ambitious politician like Mahathir Mohammad works honestly, Nepali leaders should learn from him to put the country on the path of modernisation.

Coincidently, it is the matter of satisfaction that the present Cabinet consists of ambitious leaders of this country. Some leaders are from the revolutionary backgrounds while others are known for fighting social anomalies and their commitments to nation building.  If they are able to put their energy and enthusiasm for nation building, this small country with glorious history can be transformed in no time. So, the enthusiastic leaders should focus on revamping the public policy instead of visiting from one office to another. They should office. They should swing into action to end red tape in public offices, eliminate corruption, especially at the local level, and expedite development works.