Right lessons from a failed coup

Make democracy deliver

The people of Turkey value democracy for solid reasons. Under several military administrations of the past the country had suffered from instability, its economy was in shambles and Turkey gained notoriety for being the only country in Europe ruled by military. During the first ten years of the ruling AK Party’s tenure, Turkey emerged as a stable country while Erdogan’s economic policies brought significant improvement in living standards. Turkey’s clout and its premier’s popularity increased in the neigbouring countries. Turkey even tried to help resolve differences between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The authoritarian impulse which got hold of Erdogan after 2013 alienated many from the government but confidence in democracy remained unshaken.

In Pakistan successive elected leaders after 1977 gained notoriety for large scale corruption. The ill-gotten wealth was either transferred to foreign banks or used to acquire palatial houses or set up businesses abroad. Unlike Erdogan the elected rulers did nothing to improve the livelihood of the common man through sound economic policies. Their tenures were characterised by bad governance combined with unresponsiveness to people’s problems. On one occasion the ‘big mandate’ was used to bring constitutional amendments to concentrate all powers in the hands of the prime minister. Actions of the sort weakened the common man’s confidence in democracy with many seeing little difference between military regimes and elected governments. What is more instead of retrieving the lost civilian turf as was done by Erdogan, the ruling parties in Pakistan yielded space to the army to ensure its support. With military high command under Erdogan’s thumb there was no chance of the success of the attempted coup.

Political parties in Pakistan have to realise that the people’s support for an elected government is predicated on its performance. This explains why people did not come out into the streets when one government after another was shown the door. Instead of taking vicarious pleasure in the survival of Erdogan, those in power should learn to deliver and those in opposition avoid providing chance to the men on horseback.