Nepal may not have the charisma or the soaring intellectual —he surely doesn’t have a personal mandate—to navigate this country through possible turbulences to come, but he certainly has the temperament, flexibility and managerial dexterity to face the future. We hope Nepal will use all his political capital and leadership skills to take this country forward.
If Nepal thinks getting elected Prime Minister was the most difficult part, he is in for surprises—his difficulties can only grow in the days ahead. The largest party in parliament, UCPN (Maoist), now sits as the main opposition. History shows that radical communist parties are more difficult to deal with as the opposition than when they are in government. Sitting on the other side of the fence they can do stupid things— they have the luxury to choose irresponsibility. With nearly 40 percent of the seats in the Constituent Assembly and a constitutional obligation of at least two-thirds majority in the CA to endorse the new statue, they hold a key to the constitution-drafting process. And thanks to their radicalized cadre base the Maoist party is also capable of creating disorder, challenging the state in its basic duty of governance and maintenance of law and order. The internal strife in the UML and MPRF will pose further threats to the stability of Nepal’s government.
Will he be able to juggle the twin challenges of maintaining the government’s stability and writing the constitution or will he waver along the way? Nepal will have plenty of international support, including from immediate neighbors India and China. The UML has built up an international image of a social democratic party and Nepal is perhaps its most moderate and acceptable face to the outside world.
Foreigners can, however, only extend goodwill and support but they cannot decide the fate of Nepal’s government. The longevity of that government will depend on how quickly Nepal reaches out to the Maoists and brings them on board the peace process, if not coax them into joining his government. At the same time he will have to work hard to maintain unity and cohesion in his own party, for a divided UML will only encourage others to try an alternative to his leadership.
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