fatman17
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He was elected. It’s all you need to know. There were lots of reasons not to vote for Nawaz Sharif in 2013. His last government was known not only for its corruption but also its failure to deal with the issues that most bothered the electorate, such as health and education. And for those of a liberal persuasion there was always a question mark over the PML-N’s relationship with religious extremists in Punjab.
But despite all the issues on which people could oppose the PML-N, the fact remains that when the vote was held last year, he won. And he won quite easily. Of course the argument is made that some part of the election was rigged. And in some seats that may well be true. Given the history of election rigging in Pakistan that would hardly be a surprise. But anyone who witnessed the campaign would have to accept that there was a genuine bedrock of support for the PML-N.
The election was exciting because, as all the pundits pointed out, it was the first time a democratically elected government handed over power to another democratically elected government. And there seemed to be no reason why that could not happen again. The debate after the election was not about whether Nawaz could complete his term but rather it centred on the question of whether he would prove capable of doing anything with his mandate.
For those interested in Pakistani democracy the election was encouraging for another reason. A new challenger party, the PTI, broke through as a significant national force thereby disrupting the all too comfortable, longstanding PPP–PML-N duopoly. It suggested that should the two main parties continue to fail to deliver there was a real prospect of their losing their grip on Pakistani politics.
The main issue in the last election campaign was electricity and for once Pakistan’s electorate witnessed the benefits of a functioning democratic process that transmitted their desires to the politicians. Nawaz understood that, for most voters, the question was: ‘Who can stop the power cuts?’ And if he wanted to secure a fourth term he needed to deliver genuine improvement in electricity provision.
Interestingly, even in the midst of the current crisis, when the prime ninister spoke before the parliament he showed that he still understood that electricity remains the pressing concern in the minds of most people: he devoted a significant part of his speech not to the protests in Islamabad but to the question of whether he would get more power generated.
While Nawaz Sharif is good at winning elections he seems to find holding on to power more difficult. Of course, you can argue that this is his own fault. During the first year of the current government he has made mistakes. There are the things he has not done: the corrupt remain at liberty and the tax remains uncollected.
And there are the tactical issues he got wrong. Many of his PML-N parliamentarians, for example, feel ignored by him. And he didn’t address the opposition’s genuine sense of grievance about some possibly rigged constituencies by holding enquiries into what happened.
While it’s difficult to be sure precisely what issue is driving the current drama it’s quite possible that the reason Sharif is facing such a vigorous challenge is because of his desire to put General Musharraf in jail. For Sharif, the humiliation he received at the hands of Musharraf has to be avenged. For Sharif, it’s personal. Which is a problem because for the army it’s a red line.
Many in the army would make another point. The armed forces are currently engaged in a genuinely important fight with Taliban. No doubt the military are themselves responsible for the lack of media coverage of the North Waziristan campaign – they probably fear that if they gave free reign to journalists in the war zone there would be an inconvenient amount of reporting on the human suffering there.
At the same time the army quite understandably wants more public support for what it is doing and Nawaz has failed to provide it. Whatever you think about Musharraf’s future, it’s difficult to argue against the contention that, right now, the government’s priority should be to stand alongside the young men fighting for Pakistan’s future in the tribal areas.
Nawaz knows all about winning power and then having it taken off him. He may well survive this time but, if not, it would be the third time that he has failed to complete a term. And looking back at those precedents suggests that if he does get pushed out any government that replaced him would be just as insecure and unstable as this one.
The army might prefer a government of technocrats who lack the democratic legitimacy that would enable them to be independent. If that’s what they have in mind the question would be whether one of Sharif’s challengers would be given the prime ministership so as to give the whole affair the democratic veneer that comes with having a politician as your front man.
Whatever happens it is difficult to believe that there will be any progress on the things that matter such as less illiteracy, functioning hospitals available to all, a legal system that delivers justice, an end to those power cuts and…. well, that list could go on and on.
There is so much to do. And, once again, it’s not getting done.
The writer is a freelance British journalist, one of the hosts of BBC’s Newshour and the author of the new political thriller, Target Britain.
Email: bennettjones@hotmail.com
Twitter: @OwenBennettJone
But despite all the issues on which people could oppose the PML-N, the fact remains that when the vote was held last year, he won. And he won quite easily. Of course the argument is made that some part of the election was rigged. And in some seats that may well be true. Given the history of election rigging in Pakistan that would hardly be a surprise. But anyone who witnessed the campaign would have to accept that there was a genuine bedrock of support for the PML-N.
The election was exciting because, as all the pundits pointed out, it was the first time a democratically elected government handed over power to another democratically elected government. And there seemed to be no reason why that could not happen again. The debate after the election was not about whether Nawaz could complete his term but rather it centred on the question of whether he would prove capable of doing anything with his mandate.
For those interested in Pakistani democracy the election was encouraging for another reason. A new challenger party, the PTI, broke through as a significant national force thereby disrupting the all too comfortable, longstanding PPP–PML-N duopoly. It suggested that should the two main parties continue to fail to deliver there was a real prospect of their losing their grip on Pakistani politics.
The main issue in the last election campaign was electricity and for once Pakistan’s electorate witnessed the benefits of a functioning democratic process that transmitted their desires to the politicians. Nawaz understood that, for most voters, the question was: ‘Who can stop the power cuts?’ And if he wanted to secure a fourth term he needed to deliver genuine improvement in electricity provision.
Interestingly, even in the midst of the current crisis, when the prime ninister spoke before the parliament he showed that he still understood that electricity remains the pressing concern in the minds of most people: he devoted a significant part of his speech not to the protests in Islamabad but to the question of whether he would get more power generated.
While Nawaz Sharif is good at winning elections he seems to find holding on to power more difficult. Of course, you can argue that this is his own fault. During the first year of the current government he has made mistakes. There are the things he has not done: the corrupt remain at liberty and the tax remains uncollected.
And there are the tactical issues he got wrong. Many of his PML-N parliamentarians, for example, feel ignored by him. And he didn’t address the opposition’s genuine sense of grievance about some possibly rigged constituencies by holding enquiries into what happened.
While it’s difficult to be sure precisely what issue is driving the current drama it’s quite possible that the reason Sharif is facing such a vigorous challenge is because of his desire to put General Musharraf in jail. For Sharif, the humiliation he received at the hands of Musharraf has to be avenged. For Sharif, it’s personal. Which is a problem because for the army it’s a red line.
Many in the army would make another point. The armed forces are currently engaged in a genuinely important fight with Taliban. No doubt the military are themselves responsible for the lack of media coverage of the North Waziristan campaign – they probably fear that if they gave free reign to journalists in the war zone there would be an inconvenient amount of reporting on the human suffering there.
At the same time the army quite understandably wants more public support for what it is doing and Nawaz has failed to provide it. Whatever you think about Musharraf’s future, it’s difficult to argue against the contention that, right now, the government’s priority should be to stand alongside the young men fighting for Pakistan’s future in the tribal areas.
Nawaz knows all about winning power and then having it taken off him. He may well survive this time but, if not, it would be the third time that he has failed to complete a term. And looking back at those precedents suggests that if he does get pushed out any government that replaced him would be just as insecure and unstable as this one.
The army might prefer a government of technocrats who lack the democratic legitimacy that would enable them to be independent. If that’s what they have in mind the question would be whether one of Sharif’s challengers would be given the prime ministership so as to give the whole affair the democratic veneer that comes with having a politician as your front man.
Whatever happens it is difficult to believe that there will be any progress on the things that matter such as less illiteracy, functioning hospitals available to all, a legal system that delivers justice, an end to those power cuts and…. well, that list could go on and on.
There is so much to do. And, once again, it’s not getting done.
The writer is a freelance British journalist, one of the hosts of BBC’s Newshour and the author of the new political thriller, Target Britain.
Email: bennettjones@hotmail.com
Twitter: @OwenBennettJone
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