Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

The boy-king tries to find himself

“Baby Bilawal,” Imran Khan said at a PTI rally this year, in response to a statement by the PPP chairman. “This is not how one does politics.”

“Uncle Imran,” replied Bilawal at a rally of his own. “No one can teach a fish how to swim.”

This would have sounded like an impressive comeback — rubbing in the fact that he was a fourth generation politician — had it not been spoken in his distinctive, nasal, Anglicised drawl of an accent.

Though he might not have been able to lose his political baby fat, but in real electoral terms, his party has actually become stronger in the province it currently rules. The results of the recent local bodies’ polls are just another sign of that.

In the midst of all the comment on the PPP’s fall from grace in the Punjab – where they are not even leading the opposition anymore – the national commentariat forgets that the party has become even more entrenched in Sindh.

That is going to be problematic. You see, the deep state — be it the military, the judiciary, the media or even the centrists among the political class – has always had it in for the party. But now that the transition into becoming a Sindh-only party is almost complete, the odds stacked against it would get even worse.

As the storm gathers in Karachi (see the entry on Qaim Ali Shah) there is a possibility – slight but distinct — of an establishment-led action against the party. Expect the Punjabi-Mohajir-dominated national news media’s distaste for the PPP to be reflected in the coverage of said action, thus increasing its palatability in the rest of the country.

But are we being too alarmist here? Well, Bilawal’s speech at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on his mother’s death anniversary openly trashed the National Action Plan, making him the first political leader in the country to have done so. The N League was in his crosshairs in the speech and the military’s jawans were giving some token appreciation. Though even the latter can change, depending on how the next year plays out.

Other than this, Bilawal has been a newsmaker this year for not being a newsmaker. He was conspicuous by his absence, something that could be said of his father as well. Some within the Sindh cabinet, most famously Sharjeel Memon, have even chosen to take care of their office work all the way from Dubai.

The PPP must not only up its game, but be seen to better itself. The Qaim Ali Shah cabinet has a lack of young, proactive ministers who can inspire confidence in the Sindh government. Perhaps Bilawal can assume that mantle himself and plan to get his first executive assignment. He certainly has that potential, but it remains to be seen whether he is ready for it. He needs to get out of the Twittersphere and hit the books and walk the earth. To shake off that accent a bit and acquire a common touch, something his mother had accomplished herself.

Perhaps the party elders do need to teach this fish how to swim.