Kathmandu: The King is sending signals that he is ready not only talk to the agitating parties but also prepared to for a national government provided the parties came up with a consensus candidate.
If this is so then what could be inferred from King’s signals is that he has of late become a bit flexible and is all set to accommodate the demands of the political parties now in agitation.
This should be a good news for the agitating parties.
However, rumours and partisan media reports have it that the King is still as rigid as he was in the early days of October 2002 and that the King prefers a personality to head the election government of his own choice.
The parties dismiss the King’s role in the selection of a new prime minister and say that it was their prerogative and not of the King.
Whether the King has this wish or otherwise will come to the open when the monarch would push his choice for the prime ministerial post as against th4 consensus candidate of the five agitating parties when the latter meet the King.
The King has sent hints that he was still waiting the agitating leaders’ to see him in the palace. He indicated this while he met a set of prominent women activists Monday evening. To the utter chagrin of the agitating parties, the women leaders who met the King returned pretty satisfied with King’s explanations as regards the affairs of the nation. The women leaders indirectly even hinted that the King was ready for the talks and that it was the political leaders who had been dilly-dallying the talks with the monarch.
If this is so then what could be concluded is that the King is willing to meet leaders. Now the leaders have to decide as to when to meet the King and whom they should push as a consensus prime minister. Coincidently, this is what the Nepal’s donors too demanded from the agitating parties. The donors maintain that the political parties too should cooperate the King by sending the name of their choice of prime minister.
The stalemate continues.
The other side of the story is also very interesting.
While Koirala is all thrilled to see the King. Were it left to him, he would have seen the King even last week itself.
However, his hands are tied. It is the resistance from other coalition partners that blocked Koirala’s meet with the King last week. The UML and the smaller parties in the coalition fear that if Koirala is allowed to see the King in private, he can negotiate any thing under the sun and defeat the gains of the almost one year long agitation against regression. Koirala says that he would not act against the coalition mandate but would convince the King that he will benefit if he reconciled with the agitating parties.
Deuba too remains sceptic of Koirala’s meeting with the King. Says Deuba, “If Koirala meet the King at best he will damage my prospects of becoming the next prime minister and might plead the King to elevate his own ranks”.
Rumours have it that the King has also sounded that he will continue with Thapa as prime minister until he receives a consensus candidate from among the political parties. The political parties have so far failed in pushing their candidate.
The fact is that the agitating political parties sharply differ on a common candidate. Koirala has developed a strong desire for himself. Madhav Nepal claims that he continues to be the consensus candidate which junior congress leaders dismiss and claim that the “situation” has changed. Deuba claims the post for himself. The smaller factions contained in the coalition neither have the courage nor the ability to steer the nation with the weighty post of the prime minister. This means that the tussle lies in between the NC and the UML for this lucrative post.
However, Koirala has separate plans for himself if he is denied the post he loves most. In that case, he will have a joint alliance with the RPP-Thapa and the NSP-Anandi Devi. These parties are considered to be the birds that flock together.
To counter this election alliance, naturally the UML will wish to bring closer the Deuba congress and the establishment faction of the RPP headed by Rana and naturally NSP-Mandal will also be included.
The rest of the smaller communist factions’ will have to find their suitable partners themselves.
In effect, if this equation has developed or is being developed then what is for sure is that the five parties coalition is a mess now.
Nevertheless, when the leaders meet the King and if they meet at all, how the King reacts to their proposal will have determined the fate of the new equation that is in the making.