It is about time people started to stop blaming the previous govt. and smelt the roses.
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=14590
One working coalition or three sealed envelopes? It’s a no choice really!
There is a popular joke about a US president-elect who calls on his outgoing predecessor and asks him for some invaluable advice that could help the new chap deal with any future crisis. The old man pulls out three sealed envelopes marked 1, 2 & 3 from the drawer of the famed Oval office desk and hands them over to his successor with the explicit instruction to open one letter, and that too only in the given sequence, when faced with a major crisis.
Lo and behold, within weeks of the new president’s assuming of office, his government is besotted with a big crisis. So he opens the letter marked #1 and a small paper slip inside reads “Blame it on me”. The president gladly blames the crisis on his predecessor and walks away fairly unscathed from the situation. Sometime later, another major crisis hits his presidency. Out comes envelope #2 and this time the tiny slip inside reads: “blame it on the Congress”. And he does, and manages to survive again but not without a fair share of battering and bruising.
Taking part in the House debate on the crippling energy crisis, the rather pudgy and soft speaking Senator Amjad of Muzaffargarh narrated this funny and yet extremely serious joke to drive home the point that it was time for the incumbent ministers to stop blaming every crisis on the previous government and to instead get on with the task of fixing the situation, for that is exactly why the people elected them and threw out the last regime. And if the current rulers failed to do so then mere excuses would only help them last in power for a very limited period. In other words, the time to make three new envelopes could arrive sooner than anyone’s expectations.
While the coalition government has now been in the saddle for almost five weeks, any significant forward movement has been conspicuous by its sheer absence. And nothing can be more damaging for a new government than the perception of the absence of new initiatives, new drive, and new actions. The masses rightfully feel that they did their job by throwing out the incompetent old lot, and now expect the new guys to get cracking and start delivering. It may be an unrealistically hasty expectation but that’s the way things are on ground. Like it or not.
Unfortunately for the people and the country nothing is even moving, let alone being delivered thanks to the continuing judicial crisis. And not much more going to happen by the touted May 12th date of finalizing the resolution draft because Mr Abdul Hafeez Pirzada is expected to give his opinion of the draft to Mr Zardari in another three days time. Then, encouraged by Nawaz Sahrif’s grudging acceptance of retaining Supreme Court PCO judges in the revived equation, Asif Zardari apparently may seek a few more concessions. A fatal mistake may be in the process of being made on the assumption of PML-N not wanting to risk the new democratic dispensation by vacating federal cabinet berths and thus ceding further concessions. According to a highly informed PML-N insider, the PML-N patience may run out by the first week of June.
PS: There is talk of some major changes taking place in the information set up in the coming days. Another couple of weeks max. Maybe that is the reason the information minister was nowhere to be found in the session today while only yesterday Sherry Rehman seemed to be the only government face around, weathering the entire question hour almost single handedly. Inside gossip has it that the minister is busy narrowing down her options but the real question remains: Is Sherry her own chef, free to create her new recipe, or are there too many cooks in the kitchen?