Nothing new

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s long-awaited maiden speech to the nation offered little that was new, but re-emphasized much of what had been said earlier. The address indeed rather left open the question of why the prime minister had chosen to speak to citizens at this juncture at all, when he evidently had so little to say. While it had been widely anticipated that the address would be used to launch an income support programme for impoverished households, this, rather mysteriously, proved not to be the case - surprising even some of those in government. The announcement of such a plan would of course have given meaning to the whole affair. In fact it would be fair to say that the purpose of the address remains unclear, except perhaps that it was a tactic to deflect some of the mounting criticism that has come from large sections of the public and other various quarters of civil society as well as the political opposition of the first 100 days of rule of Prime Minister Gilani’s government. In particular, in recent days, his own foreign visits, including a diverted itinerary to attend an apparent party meeting in Dubai, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Islamabad, after attending the D-8 summit, has attracted considerable public censure because of its cost to the taxpayer.

The fact that the speech began at the rather un-viewer-friendly hour of 11pm, and as such missed making the main nine pm evening newscasts, added to the impression of mismanagement. That the speech then had to be disrupted to allow a faltering prime minister to switch from teleprompter to hard copy further detracted from any positive that it was probably designed to create. Everywhere in the world today, media and PR teams have a great deal to do with the image presented by their leaders. The prime minister’s team must in this respect look at its performance and ask why things, evidently, went so wrong.

In his address, Mr Gilani said that dictatorship was hampering the path of democracy. He held that ‘good news’ would soon be heard on the issue of the deposed judges, and that the PPP government would deliver on its promises of curbing rising inflation, controlling load-shedding and improving the deteriorating economic situation. He also announced expanded investment in the power sector to overcome the current energy crisis. The prime minister described Pakistan as a victim of terrorism and emphatically stated that foreign troops would not be permitted to operate from its soil. He conceded the country faced many problems, stated he was aware of the difficulties caused by the rise in oil prices and accompanying food inflation and maintained his government had inherited many problems from the past. He called on people, and the political parties which had allied themselves with the government, to extend cooperation and support to his government to tackle these matters.

It seems likely that what the prime minister said was indeed well-intentioned. Certainly, he did his best to offer some reassurance and comfort to a rather edgy nation. The announcement by the Pakistan Bar Council of a disobedience movement from August 14 if the deposed judges were not restored only adds to the sense of unease and uncertainty. But it is questionable if the address helped dispel any of these sentiments. The problem is that, at present, the federal government is seen as dysfunctional and rather inept. There is a very real possibility that the PML-N may soon part ways with it. Rumours, that circulate widely in Islamabad and have also found their way into the Press, maintain the government’s days may indeed be numbered. Such speculation in turn adds to the lack of stability that is a key factor behind the economic downfall, and adds to the immense economic worries the government faces.

It seems apparent that measures are required to check the damage. The Gilani-led government needs to prove it is able to deliver. Mere pledges are no longer enough. These mean the putting in place of concrete steps to offer people relief and an end to the sense of drift that has persisted for the last three months. The fire seen when the prime minister put his initial, 100-day programme before people, needs to be re-discovered. Somewhere along the line the flame has fizzled out and must be quickly re-kindled if the hope and trust that the prime minister seeks from people are to be extended towards his government as it struggles to overcome a swirling sea of difficulties.

Posted on: 20-July-2008

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