Dilemma of a coalition government

Certainly, coalition government is by its very nature a messy business. The small political groups demand their pound of flesh at every turn, warning to disturb the entire setup for their vested interests.

The major stakeholder is stuck walking a tightrope between the legal demands of public and illegitimate demands of its allied parties.

Apparently, it is not a right theory that coalition government can deliver governance when there is the political will.

Sorrowfully in Pakistan, a new premier and a new cabinet have not translated into a bit of political will to enhance the good-governance in the country.

The federal cabinet of Pakistan after the inclusion of 15 additional ministers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) is within touching distance of overstuffed Gilani’s cabinet.

The numbers of the ministers and their portfolios will not give you a complete picture of the story. While scrolling through the list of the cabinet members and their portfolios, you will feel that merit and capabilities were not considered in picking up ministers against their jobs.

However, expecting a coalition to become an ideal of good-governance at once was perhaps too much. It disastrously showed carelessness with matters of governance for over the past four years.

One can hope that more attention would be paid to delivering on governance promises when a general election is around the corners.

Surely, the objective behind the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP)’s submission to the PML-Q’s demands is fairly understandable.

The ruling PPP is considering that the PML-Q parliamentarians, elected to ministerial status, will be able to influence their thump inside the state system to overcome their competitors in the upcoming general elections. The good-governance is often a distant concern in patronage-driven electoral system.

Considering the Punjab to be a crucial battleground, the more ministers on the field the PPP-PML-Q combine has at the next polls, the betters its chances of securing victories.

It’s an approach corroborated of a lack of imagination. Possibly, a more competent cabinet in the final year would deliver more votes than a patronage system being squeezed for another few drops of support.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=27400

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jun 28 2012. Filed under National, Opinion, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.