IT is, perhaps, for the first time in the history of the country that none of the major political parties are as enthusiastic as they should be for the formation of government at the Centre because of the highly unpredictable situation caused by the election outcome. As government formation is absolutely not possible without active collaboration between any of the two parties out of three that bagged more seats of the National Assembly, any party leading the coalition will have crippling dependency on the other partner and that is why political analysts are not sure how long such an arrangement could last given self-centred policies of the political parties.
In this backdrop, it is no surprise that despite winning more seats than its rivals, PTI has finally come to the conclusion that there would be no point in forming governments at the Centre and in Punjab. Its leader Barrister Saif told newsmen on Friday that under instructions of Imran Khan, the party would sit on the opposition benches in the National Assembly and the Punjab Assembly. On the other hand confusion prevailed after reports suggested the PML(N) too was not interested in the formation of the government at the federal level. According to media reports, participants of a high level meeting of the party suggested to Nawaz Sharif that PML(N) should focus only on Punjab where it has secured majority after a number of independents joined the party and that we should not take the federal government. These reports gained currency when a senior leader of PML(N) Khawaja Saad Rafiq argued that forming the federal government was not the sole responsibility of the PMLN, but all parties reaching the parliament after the elections. In a post on his ‘X’ account, he also suggested that “the PTI-backed independent members-elect should take the lead, and form the government at the Centre. We would extend them felicitations”. Earlier, PPP, which was also eyeing the office of the Prime Minister withdrew from the race and announced to support the PML-N’s candidate but at cost. The hesitation of the major parties is understandable as formation of a stable government would remain an elusive dream as none of them could secure enough seats to form and run the administration on their own. We have seen in the past that the parties leading the government could not implement their own agenda due to pressure tactics and blackmailing of the coalition partners. It is also ironic that even before the formation of the government, people have started talking in terms of new elections after one or two years, a period, which would not suffice for any party to demonstrate its worth in governance. All political parties also know it fully well that in the given economic challenges and expectations of the people from the new government, power has become a throne of thorns and they might have to face wrath of the people in case of unsatisfactory delivery. Rethinking on the part of the PTI augurs well as previously it showed no flexibility but now it is ready to sit on the opposition benches and has also started talking to other political parties. Its decision to sit on the opposition benches might have been influenced by the general perception that no party would be able to deliver and fresh elections would become a necessity. Similarly, the PTI could only form government by entering into an alliance with the PPP, which would have weakened the narrative of the party. The emerging scenario where both the PML(N) and the PTI are not that keen to form a government might undermine the bargaining power of the PPP, which wanted a disproportionate share in power in return for its cooperation. According to PML(N) stalwart Prof. Ahsan Iqbal, Nawaz Sharif made it clear “we will not form the federal government by compromising on our principles. We will stick to our principles and ensure the development of the country.” Irrespective of who forms the government where, the political parties must bear in mind that both the government and the opposition are part and parcel of the democratic system and they must not shy away from their roles and responsibilities for temporary or short-term gains.
