The PPP government is all set for slogging before the Senate elections, as is required in the final overs to chase a huge target piled up by opponents, with prospects of a nail-biting finish often seen in a contest between Pakistan and India.
The main target for the PPP is the upcoming Senate election, which could ensure the PPP’s political supremacy not only in the Senate, but in the future political dispensation after the next general elections as well. It will be interesting to see if the PPP achieves the targets and succeeds in undertaking the slogging to successfully chase the huge target it has set its eyes on.
The man of the moment for the PPP is none other than President Asif Ali Zardari, who despite all negative propaganda against him impressed his friends and foes alike with his political sagacity and smooth political handling, taking even his ardent critics by surprise with his survival instincts. He has already assumed the driving seat to change the existing equation before the Senate election, in which the PPP leadership is painted as unequal to the challenges facing the country.
Sources close to President Zardari disclosed that the PPP leadership would make sure to set the House in order before the matter-of-life-and-death Senate election. That will not only make President Zardari’s job easier when Senate election approaches, but also help the PPP’s allies support the PPP and president in the future as well. As such the more knowledgeable political leaders say the federal government would take emergent measures to resolve the pressing problems that have pitted the people against the present leadership. This would be crucial to improve the PPP’s perception, they argued.
On the governance side, the challenges facing President Zardari would be the lingering energy crisis, price hike and deteriorating services of Railways and PIA making way into newspaper headlines daily and building a temp against the PPP leadership. As if using a magic wand, President Zardari has already brought load shedding under full control. But more efforts would be required to deal with the problem. “A dip in the prices of the fuel and along with other economic measures in coming days could create a great impact and go a long way in reducing inflation,” said a senior politician close to the president.
President Zardari has already increased contacts with leading businessmen. These economic leaders, impressed by Zardari’s grasp of economic issues, have heaped praise the other day on the government for reducing the discount rate. They believe the decrease would go a long way in improving economy by boasting business in the country. On the political front, President Zardari would be required to manage his coalition as smoothly as possible. The response by the PPP to Zulfiqar Mirza’s renewed outbursts against the MQM has been befitting and reassuring for the MQM.
The PPP not only accepted Mirza’s resignation but also outlawed the Aman Committee to please both the superior judiciary and the MQM. The recent meeting of PML -Q leader with President Zardari was enough for the Chaudhrys to say that they would go with the PPP, not only in the Senate election but also in the future general election. “We left the Presidency fully convinced that the president was very sincere and serious in maintaining the coalition with the PML-Q and addressing party grievances.” said a participant of the meeting.
Sources said the MQM’s return to the government, though seen unexpected once, and the PML-Q’s pledge for support showed that the PPP would enter the Senate election with a broad-based coalition. Sources said PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif would require the support of the military and judiciary to turn tables on the PPP before the Senate election, but the prospects of any such scenario are pretty far-fetched. Both the military and judiciary have reiterated more than once that they could continue to lend support the present democratic set-up, which is a good omen for the PPP.
Political analysts say the military and judiciary will not like to be seen as party to any destablisation move against the government. Senior politicians are convinced that Nawaz would not go for any extreme step as being suggested in the media after Tahir Ali Javed’s outlandish suggestion to the Punjab chief minister to dissolve the Punjab Assembly to pre-empt the Senate election. The suggestion was such that even Senator Pervaiz Rashid had to disown it, saying the PML-N had no such plan. PML-N’s Secretary Information Mushahid Ullah has also said that the party had no plan to step down from assemblies.
Nawaz, facing increasing political isolation, is desperate to find new partners. His attempt to woo the PML-Q when the chances of any split between the PPP and PML-Q were minimal underlines his desperation and limited political understanding and judgment.
Politicians say Nawaz missed the bus when he resisted calls for the unification of Muslim League factions.
