The Indicators

As global leadership evolves, so must we

Certain unexpected events occurred in 2016. Britain was jolted by ‘Brexit’. This started introvert-looking nationalism. The entire world was stunned by the decisive defeat of Hillary Clinton, a moderate veteran of three decades of public service supported by the establishment, who was the favorite to win right to the last minute, until the early results of the vote count surfaced.

Trump had no previous experience of holding any public office. But what perhaps won him the votes of the silent majority was the unequivocal and rather hateful pledge to fight a war against radical Islam and ban the entry of Muslims in the U.S. Conservative white Americans and the usually indifferent voters turned out to make him win even in the states his party was most likely to loose.

The bizarre results of Brexit referendum and the U.S Presidential race have sown the seeds of out of box thinking. The 2017 French Presidential elections are the next to be infected by this wave. Rightist Ms. Marine Le Pen who stood little chance of coming anywhere close, suddenly gained respectability and is now a serious contender after polling 22% in a recent survey for the first round. France also appears to be heading towards a hard line surge on anti-immigration and Islamic extremism.

These events appear to be a precursor to radical changes in the world order, reorientation of interstate relations and of global economic structure. Redefining alliances and the formation of new blocks seem imminent. Public opinion of global and domestic issues is following these trends throughout Western Europe. Significantly, it is now the public that is dictating policies through the power of their votes to the governments in Europe and America. Anti-Muslim agendas are no longer only the state policies but reflect the wishes of majority of their populace.

We seem oblivious to the precarious course towards which the powerful West is heading. Our turbulent politics has no respite from non-issues, personal vendettas, futile political scoring and agitations. PTI’s relentless pursuit to humiliate and dismiss the sitting Prime Minister by hook or by crook, marred by unsubstantiated allegations and indecent language has persisted with undiminished vigor and enthusiasm. After exhausting all options of agitation, dharnas and courts, the party has condescendingly returned to parliament – that should not have been abandoned in the first place.

Nawaz Sharif is constantly portrayed as the sole root cause of Pakistan’s ills. Yet, not enough people took to protests over the two years period that warranted a situation for the government to abdicate. All opposition parties in the parliament united against PTI’s call to dismantle the system by street agitation that would have set a bad precedence.

We fail to comprehend in our lofty rhetoric that corruption has taken the form of a franchise in advanced and developing nations alike. Nations have to devise effective means to cope with this menace and not just offer lip service. Matters of public welfare, legislation, nation building and good governance are never relegated to the back burner in pursuit of witch hunts.

Numerous heads of authoritarian governments such as Nicaragua, Tunisia, Peru, Haiti, Serbia, Philippines, and Indonesia were toppled or jailed on charges of corruption or embezzlement of large sums. Former Italian and Ukraine Prime Ministers among many others were notorious for stark financial irregularities. The ill gotten money is routinely parked in overseas bank accounts, off-shore shell companies or invested in Western capitals. Few were never caught and lived lives of immense luxury while their people starved. However, this did not prevent these nations from focusing on other matters of public interest simultaneously.

Such leaders are punished either by due process of law or public outrage. The first female Presidents of South Korea Park Geun Hye and Dilma Rousseff of Brazil denied charges of wrong doing and refused to resign. Millions of people protested in streets for months throughout the country that persuaded their respective National Assembly and the Senate to pass motions of impeachment. President Park was suspended on 9 December 2106 for up to 180 days while the constitutional court decides the validity of the motion. President Rousseff was ousted in May this year.  U.S President Nixon resigned in 1974 before the house could commence impeachment proceedings for misuse of authority.

There is little conclusive statistics to prove that level of corruption or misuse of authority was eradicated or even reduced significantly as a consequence of these purges.

Presently, we have to combat the prejudices of the Christian (so called liberal) West on one side and the hostility of an extremist Hindu regime on the other, not to mention our very own Muslim neighbors. Donald Trump’ proclaimed love for the Hindus and India, our arch enemy, should be of considerable concern to our foreign office. Internally we are submerged in problems on all fronts that everyone is aware of but no one is prepared to confront and resolve.

The polls in UK and the U.S have indicated the future course the world is taking. Our leaders must diligently ponder if we wish to survive with dignity in the changing environment, looking inwards and frames policies to fulfill the needs and desires of the silent majority and not of their own fancies or interests.