Naked self-interest wins over larger national interest
‘An unquestioned despotism of the party leader, the fawning servility of the senior leadership as indeed of the contemptuously ignored backbenchers, truly defines our peculiar form of insulated ‘Masonic Lodge’ democracy.’
The damning, and for Pakistanis, extremely distressing revelations, in the report of the Joint Investigation Team set up and closely monitored by the Supreme Court Bench hearing the Panama Leaks case, were unsurprisingly, immediately and vehemently denounced by the PML-N’s senior leadership, the princesses, the son-in-law, the squawking hangers-on and political windbags, and the bought media, as so much fabricated and false trash, with the arrogant refrain: No Resignation.
It seems these elected gentlemen consider it their divine right to rule and hence are above the law and beyond any accountability. All the solid information and hard facts of the sordid affair, so meticulously gleaned from a variety of sources in record time, quoting chapter and verse, were for them just water off a stubborn (but actually dead-scared) duck’s back.
The pauperised Ms Maryam Safdar, who is on record as saying she did not possess any property in Pakistan, what to speak abroad, has piously tweeted that the PM will not resign, God willing, and the zombie-like ministers have also, in public at least, ostensibly dug in their heels for a prolonged legal-cum-political battle. An unquestioned despotism of the party leader, the fawning servility of the senior leadership as indeed of the contemptuously ignored backbenchers, truly defines our peculiar form of insulated ‘Masonic Lodge’ democracy.
‘So now it has boiled down to the selfish and familiar formula of leaders being so used to prolonged periods of self-serving stay in power, that they are ‘resolved to rule or ruin the state’ if threatened with loss of such profitable and rewarding supremacy.
As for the Great Leader, or shall one say proudly, Helmsman, who made such a wonderful and profound difference in poor citizens lives, and brought unprecedented prosperity to the country, according to his own perception of ‘true lies’, he seems to have acquiesced in the dangerous games now being played by some delusional people who simply cannot conceive of or cope with the idea of a life without power and dominance. The primal, demonic or granite Will to Power that drives many ambitious men may be a fact, but an equally potent motivation is the spirit for self-preservation, for survival, in the face of a downfall and certain ruin.
So now it has boiled down to the selfish and familiar formula of leaders being so used to prolonged periods of self-serving stay in power, that they are ‘resolved to rule or ruin the state’ if threatened with loss of such profitable and rewarding supremacy. Also, being billionaires and hence ‘exceptional cases’, they will blame the whole world and high heaven itself, point paranoid fingers at alleged foes and shadowy conspirators, in order to prove their own innocence.
Sometimes it seems that judgment will only be passed on them on Judgment Day, and not before, not on this earth. Their Houdini-like escapes from all apparently insurmountable tangles and knots in the past prove this point. The cruel verdict of history holds no terror for these businessmen-politician amateurs, what matters most to them is that the marvellous, golden present should never end and be passed on to their future generations, already groomed and waiting in the wings. Their greatest fear is the fear of a loss of power, and to prevent this cosmic disturbance, they may not be above stirring up divisive strife, using diversionary tactics or seeking covert reassurances from abroad, even from hostile states.
‘The cruel verdict of history holds no terror for these businessmen-politician amateurs, what matters most to them is that the marvellous, golden present should never end and be passed on to their future generations, already groomed and waiting in the wings. Their greatest fear is the fear of a loss of power, and to prevent this cosmic disturbance, they may not be above stirring up divisive strife, using diversionary tactics or seeking covert reassurances from abroad, even from hostile states.’
To talk of ethics and morality in this case would be a waste of time, a vain attempt to be ‘heard where ear is none’. The drunkenness and the infatuation of power give birth to the ‘child of power’, Folly, which blinds its victims to rational, rightful decisions while driving and urging them on towards more absurdity, fantasy and illusion. It is said that politicians lie even when they don’t have to. But, by harping on its innocence despite all the weight of available evidence, the Family is bizarrely persisting in a mirage image of itself as one of unsoiled purity, piety, sincerity, transparency, goodwill to all humankind and innate integrity.
Few people, and certainly not the masses, are willing to buy this outworn sales pitch by a profit and business–minded leadership that has outlived its promise, its utility, its trust and its credibility. Sharpness, greed, vindictiveness, acquisitiveness, wiles and deceit, meanness, indecision, egotism, hypocrisy, a touching play-acting, and self-interest are the traits that come more readily to mind.
One reason for clinging on to irreversibly damaged and eroded leadership is provided by American historian Barbara Tuchman: ‘chief among the forces affecting political morality is lust for power, named by Tacitus as ‘’the most flagrant of all passions’’… In this sphere, wisdom, which may be defined as the exercise of judgment acting on experience, is less operative and more frustrated than it should be…’’’.
Another compelling cause, in our own stubborn incumbent’s case might be fear of the multitude of skeletons in their closet, spread over thirty-plus years, finally tumbling out and resulting in their disqualification from holding public office, or even worse, confiscation of their treasure hoards and spending time as forced guests of the state.
Fear is a factor that makes for a sham fighting mode, but they should also spare a thought for our bitterly polarised country, bayed about with many enemies, and its miserable, hungry and confused teeming millions surviving on a single meal a day, if that. This is indeed a watershed moment for the future direction of our peoples. And, the time for a desperately needed change in our lopsided, unjust and non-delivering system, is NOW, it is now or never. Sitting on the fence will not do anymore and citizens from all walks of life will have to pitch in with their share to reap the benefits of a truly egalitarian democratic system.
