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Kathmandu Monday July 23, 2001 Shrawan 08, 2058.
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A new leaf
With Sher Bahadur Deuba’s comfortable 72-40 election as
leader of the Nepali Congress parliamentary party on Sunday, the ruling party can be
said to have turned a new leaf. This is the first time that the party has allowed someone
from the younger generation to succeed to the post of leader of the parliamentary party.
The party’s two year experiment in the period 1995-97 including 18 months of
Deuba as prime minister was a mere fluke and party leader Girija Prasad Koirala saw to it
that the fluke did not last. This time around, the passing of the torch has a more
authentic feel to it if only because it has taken place in unenviable circumstances. This
apart, the nation is facing a deep crisis not only of leadership but also of its very
survival. Whoever wields power at this stage must have the knack of resolving difficult
problems and bringing together disparate groups and ideologies in order to
safeguard the nation and forge ahead with national development. The series of crises that
has hit this nation stemmed from past malpractices such as corruption, nepotism,
favouritism and plain bad governance. While the Nepali Congress need not be told what
democracy means, it nonetheless merits repetition that democracy does not anywhere mean a
dictatorship of the majority. The voices of the opposition, and above all the voices and
feelings of the people, must be taken into serious consideration. The previous NC
government boasting of a majority in parliament and a majority of one in the parliamentary
party apparently felt otherwise, and brought undue and unjust pain to the nation.
His appointment as prime minister is for Sher Bahadur Deuba
the first step on the difficult path that lies ahead. If he is to be successful, he must
bring with him a healing touch that will truly unify a Nepali Congress parliamentary party
which now seems to be bogged down in groupism. This might prove to be much more difficult
for him than solving national problems. In addition, the NC government today enjoys very
low public esteem and the new prime minister needs to redeem the NC image and build
confidence among the people that he can deliver. For this, Deuba will be well advised to
induct into his government persons who are not tarnished in any way. This may be a
difficult task for him but he should understand that this will be his first test of
credibility. Then there is the law and order situation to restore and felt the need to
bring the Maoist insurgents into the political mainstream. Neither of these tasks will be
easy to accomplish. But the true test of leadership lies in overcoming obstacles and
winning public support. From the Maoist insurgency to the eradication of poverty, Deuba
faces tough challenges ahead and we hope the new prime minister will be able to overcome
them and take the country forward in all round national development. He should also avoid
his past mistakes as prime minister, some of which were aimed solely at saving his own
job.
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