Bilawal steers PPP on bumpy political road

As rumours about Asif Ali Zardari’s fate as the president of the country continue to make rounds across political and social circles inside and outside the country, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman and president’s son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has formally taken the driving seat of the party, yet a long and bumpy political road lies ahead without “airbags” inside, particularly when it comes to the Bhutto family.
The “political ring” of the country has always been cruel to the Bhutto family. Be it PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, daughter Benazir Bhutto or son Mir Murtaza Bhutto, all three met a sad end, leaving many to mourn.The PPP is the largest political party of the country. The party was launched at its founding convention on November 30, 1967 in Lahore and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was elected its first chairman by the participants. Only time will tell whether the entry of Bilawal in politics was by design or PPP had no other choice in the ‘extraordinary’ situation.
As Bilawal has stepped into his father’s shoes and taken over the reins of the party, the months ahead are likely to be bumpy and unpredictable in the context of the prevailing political crisis in the country, particularly in the backdrop of the memo scandal. At a time when the “beleaguered” president is admitted to a hospital in UAE with heart trouble, Bilawal formally made his entry into the political arena with a meeting with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on December 7 and also jointly presided over a meeting of the senior party leadership along with the PM. The very next day, Gilani’s sons Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani MPA and Syed Ali Musa Gilani called on Bilawal, suggesting that in the absence of his father, Bilawal was ready to take on the challenges.
Neat and clean as a newborn on the political horizon, Bilawal may prove a right choice by the PPP to frustrate the PML-N’s anti-Zardari drive. The PML-N targeted Zardari for being the president and co-chairman of the PPP at one time, saying he was really at the helm of affairs of the country and calling the shots. With Bilawal holding the PPP reins, the PML-N would lose justification in its ‘Go Zardari Go’ movement, as Zardari would now be the president only. On the other hand, the move will also satisfy the courts which objected to President Zardari’s holding the dual offices of president and the PPP co-chairman.