Some credit now where it is due. Reducing the size of cabinets in nascent democracies, especially those with coalition governments, is rather difficult. Even a mere reshuffle at the same strength can be a bit of a minefield. In the mad rush for parliamentary superiority that follows the election results, not only do smaller parties and independents have to be taken care of but extreme caution has to be exercised with regards to rifts and rivalries within the parties themselves. The principal instrument of patronage for ally parties and loyalty within party ranks in the nation’s political culture has been the cabinet portfolio. True, allies can demand other things, like cooperation on the war on terror and renaming a province in the case of the ANP, or a resumption of the local governance system in the case of the MQM, or quasi-cabinet posts like chair of the Council of Islamic Ideology like the JUI(F), but ministries proper are usually what things boil down to.
Traditionally, expanded cabinets are difficult to bring down. So the bigger cabinet, really, is what the incumbent regime had inherited from the Shaukat Aziz government, whom political expediency forced into having the biggest cabinet in the country’s history. News of the ruling party’s central committee giving the premier the go ahead to dissolve the cabinet and draft a newer, leaner one, is welcome. Though it really isn’t clear just how small the newer cabinet will be, it will still be a good step in the public diplomacy of a government that is forced to impose alternate taxation systems and phase out subsidies on certain essential items.
Though the limit set by the 18th amendment for the cabinet (11 percent of the parliament) is tough, the 18th also brings with it help on the front. Several subjects are now not in the federal government’s jurisdiction. It is hoped the provinces would be able to take on their new responsibility well and, perhaps, further devolve ministries of their own down to the local level.
The test of keeping both coalition partners and party members happy after the rightsizing is going to be a complex exercise in politicking. The government has its work cut out for it. It is also hoped that the new cabinet comprises of an able team of executives that would be able to steer the country out of its current rut.
