Then and now
In order to question whether the Peoples Party has fulfilled the legacy of its founding father – and this does come up quite a lot at events like ZABs death anniversary, which the party is set to observe today – one has to delve into what exactly that legacy was in the first place. This, if done honestly, can lead to some uncomfortable soul searching by die hard Bhutto fans and anti-PPP stalwarts alike. And, like a lot of important questions, it can be debated almost endlessly.
First of all, simplistic populist questions by TV anchors like whether the party has been successful in providing the elusive roti, kapra aur makaan are unfounded. It is ridiculous to expect a party to change the economic geography of a country after a mere three years of rule. The previous stints at governance were also dreadfully truncated. It is also ridiculous to put up these questions, incidentally, to the PML(N). The military establishment decides much of what goes on in the country, including the fundamental stages of matters financial. And this is talking only about the supposedly democratic years.
Amongst those who ran the country, Mr. Bhutto was perhaps the only one who, in addition to being very competent at his job, also had his eye on the bigger picture; a vision. His daughter had inherited the whole vision thing from her father, if not the ability to master the nuances of governance. The current party dispensation falls short on both counts. Despite, it has to be admitted here, a learning curve of sorts. Also missing is ZABs skill at developing and mentoring young leaders within his party ranks, surveying the entire country, scouting for such talent and the ability to strike a chord in peoples hearts. Not to mention the ability to communicate effectively a sense of empathy.
On the flip side – and this, too, might annoy Bhutto fans and detractors alike – the current dispensation has actually improved on certain counts. Progressively. Consider the ability to allow dissent and strike reconciliation with former opponents. From near intransigence in the ZAB years, to the remarkably increased degree of patience in the BB era to a downright magnificent ability to herd cats and wade through the contours of the realpolitik in the coalition engineering of the Zardari years. The same for the partys attitude towards the freedom of press. From a near fascist blackout in the first era to culturing a spirit of a free press in the second to the ability to withstand even the most guttural of slurs from a recently free, if irresponsible, media in the third.
A silver lining in the presence of much dreariness.
