Two swords length. That is the distance between the treasury and opposition benches in a particular chamber of legislation; a safety valve, in case the debate gets too passionate and the honourable members decide to cut each other open. Though this stipulated distance is a cherished relic of a time gone by, the disruptive passions, the skullduggery and catcalls remain. No, this particular house in question is not that of one of the turbulent new democracies in Latin American or Asia. It is, in fact, the House of Commons in Britain, the mother of parliaments; a house where the level of debate on serious public policy issues, amidst all the lewd heckling, is unparalleled.
The above was meant to illustrate the unnecessary premium that is placed on order and quiet in the parliament. Anti-political interest groups in the country have since long been erroneously basing arguments against the political class by pointing out this instance of tumult in parliament or that. Rubbish. The political class can never be and should never be as disciplined as military regiments. If a particular presidential address, to get to the point, inspires protests and heckling from the legislators, it should not be interpreted as an affront to democracy. True, many would argue that this is no first among equals we are talking about but the head of state himself. The symbol of the federation, in fact. True, but at this stage in the evolution of our democracy, the office is occupied by the leader of the ruling party. Protests are all but inevitable.
President Zardaris address to a joint session of parliament (his fourth) went by smoothly, though. The reason: almost all opposition members walked out of the house in protest, yielding a supportive audience of PPP and ANP MNAs and Senators. The speech itself was nothing significant; a lukewarm reiteration of policy statements. Those who deal in scenarios of gloom and doom, who had bizarrely linked a possible rowdy session to a collapse of the government, were proved wrong. Similarly, government spokespersons who would view this as some sort of victory have set the bar for victory extremely low. At a level that the people of the nation do not deserve.
