Kathmandu: Politics is not bed of roses.
By this time Prime Minister Deuba must have realized this adage. Talking and bringing them to real actions are two entirely different things.
Prime Minister Deuba though is serious in providing a formal all party shape to his government, however, the hidden fact is that those who prompted him at time of his appointment are putting harsh conditions and a poor Deuba is left with no options other than to comply to their dictates.
If he yields to the prospective political partners in the government, Deuba has so many things to lose. If he does not, chances are brighter that his government too will have the same fate as his predecessors had in the not too distant past.
That Deuba will yield becomes much more clear from the fact that if he does not do that, he will instantly come under the attack of his political rival, President Koirala, who considers Deuba’s appointment as a continuation of regression and nothing else. If he does not, then that would mean that he would have to console himself by housing some less influential political men collected from smaller parties and calling it an all-party set.
The fact is that until and unless the UML joins the government, Deuba’s government will continue to remain a sort of lame-duck one. Even if the RPP joins the government, the Deuba cabinet will continue to lack needed credibility for varied reasons.
This means that Deuba will bring heaven down to earth to seduce the UML which is desperate in joining the cabinet but concurrently remains conscious of not losing its strict democratic disciplines and thus the party has pushed its conditions to be accepted by Deuba prior to its joining the establishment.
But then Deuba’s hands are tied. For, some of the demands put forth by the UML has some thing to do with the curtailment of the King’s powers which presumably the latter managed during Chand’s premiership in his personal favor.
The UML is not going to settle for less than bending Deuba to exhibit his democratic credentials or else the party could leave Deuba in the cold.
However, the UML too knows Deuba’s compulsions and limitations. The party better understands that even if it were a government of theirs, they could have found themselves in the same hot-seat wherein Deuba is in today.
Poor Deuba neither can displease the monarch who appointed him so graciously not can he misbehave with a party that saved him from being drowned in the black sea.
UML intentions are not that bad enough, admits Deuba, but concurrently assured the UML that every thing will be alright when they join the government.
The UML prefers not to exhibit its lust for power but is desperate in bouncing back to power, which gets reflected, from the utterances of some of the UML leaders while talking to newsmen.
“The UML’s harsh conditions are nothing but a ploy to press Deuba to the wall and compel him to offer a good number of ministerial portfolios and that too lucrative ones”, said a Deubaite to this scribe on conditions of anonymity.
The UML has reasons to press Deuba. Firstly, the party has taken a courageous step while declaring its support to Deuba’s new regime. Secondly, in doing so, the UML has irritated its friends with whom it generally met at Ratnapark for agitation against regression. Thirdly, the moment the UML joins the cabinet, the Deuba set up will instantly equip itself with the needed credibility and legitimacy. Fourthly, if politics were an art of compromise and bargain, what was the harm in squeezing the Deuba government for extracting greater benefits for the party?
More so, the UML pressure on Deuba is guided more by its eyes on the elections as and when it would be held. If it is so, then what could be best than to occupy significant ministries so that every thing goes smoothly at times of the elections.
Deuba knows UML’s trick but can’t afford to annoy its Herculean partner for varied political reasons.
It remains to be seen as to how Deuba convinces the UML or on what concessions the UML joins the cabinet?
Be that as it may, if the UML really sticks to its demands as solid rock then it is only the constitutional monarch who could rescue Deuba’s sinking boat. But will the King agree to handover the powers pertaining to the country’s bureaucracy back to the executive, which he managed through an ordinance at time of Prime Minister Chand?
King’s sagacity and magnanimity can only save Deuba from again being dubbed as an incompetent prime minister.
A testing time for the monarch as well. Analysts hope the King will oblige Deuba with his magnanimity.
Telegraph adds: Madhav Nepal has a rough time now. He is in a fix. The issue is that a section in the UML prefer joining the cabinet at the earliest. The other says that unless Deuba agreed to satisfy the UML demands, the party has to wait.
How Madhav Nepal strikes a balance in between the two conflicting ideas will have to be watched.