Kathmandu: Finally Prime Minister Deuba’s month long wrangling has yielded a 31-member cabinet of the NC-D, the UML, the RPP and revealingly, even, independents from the erstwhile upper House of the parliament. The nearly two year long search for a national government instigated by the King under article 127 of the constitution has produced something close to it- a cabinet that would have commanded a majority in the dissolved parliament. In this sense the King should be congratulated.

There is another side of the cabinet formation process that deserves analysis however, that it has taken two long years in the making at considerable cost of lives property, wealth and credibility suggest perhaps that the cabinet is tool little too late. The very fact that the Common Minimum Program designed to produce a coalition culture in Nepali politics took so long to thrash over since the appointment of Deuba makes glaring the utter lack since and preparedness among out political parties. That the CMP was merely a façade to cover-up hard bargaining for cabinet positions impresses one that is that governed the chaos in government at the apex in politics remains. There is no solace in the formation of government. The cabinet will have to act and act fast to disapprove this.

If one is left admiring the constitutional monarch and its strength for having absorbed the smear in engineering this logical national requirement one can’t but continue to loath our politicians for displaying too familiar traits of partnership and opportunism at the cost of the nation. The fear is that these traits will emerge to render the cabinet unworkable and in cohesive especially when the supposed CMP hardly takes up the workings of the nation’s actual needs.

Already the constitution of the cabinet has brought out the all too familiar chinks in each constituents party of the cabinet. The UML’s K.P.Woli and Bam Dev Gautam whose segments have been sounded public grumbling prior to the cabinet formation itself. The RPP is known to be poised for a Surya Bahadur Thapa split after chairman P. Rana’s shunning has claim for representation. Deuba’s party itself is not too happy in its leadership choice to ignore stalwarts.

Of course, the opposition of the Girija Congress and the other smaller parties remain. However, the opposition within the cabinet parties itself will bound to be Deuba’s Achilles Hill. As indication on the reaction to the appointment of Mother-in-Law, Pratibha Rana from within Deuba’s own and the RPP is striking. Even former DPM, Badri Mandal taking a demotion to man the forest ministry is already subject of ridicule in his own splintered party. And then there is the reaction to the “Palace” appointments from within the UML itself. That the majority partner in government refuses to acknowledge the utility of representation from the upper house reveals the out look of the UML and says much.

It is here that one must pause. After all the first major task of the cabinet is to deal with the Maoists. DPM, Bharat Mohan Adhikari has already told a panting media that he as finance minister will not increase security allocations in the budget. While this will mean a commitment to lure the Maoists to talks, the public suspicion remains that the actual agenda at the talks has already been determined in Lucknow between Mr. Nepal and Prachanda.

If this is true, one can only await the timing of when the CPN-UML team in cabinet will play added politics by withdrawing from the cabinet en masse on grounds of un-workability with a visible alignment with the Maoists in mind. At this stage, the Koirala coalition will be awaiting Madhav Nepal with open hands. It will be perhaps beneficial for the Maoists to take the talks in the direction.