AFTER holding the successful general election 2024, Pakistan has offered an ideal toss up for democracy to defeat populist sleaze. In parliamentary democracy, there is no limit on political parties and independent visions to serve the economy, democracy and country. Political parties’ should stop abusing public mandate for individual bargaining including offices and May 9. The law will take its own course. Political parties have to perform or face democratic extinction because now all roads are leading to democracy.
Minority government is an excellent opportunity for political parties to showcase parliamentary democracy for the rest of the world. It is up to the political parties to adopt King Lear syndrome of holding power without any responsibility or accept cabinet positions to serve the country instead of using their mandates for point scoring in next election campaigns. A strong opposition can keep the democratic check and balance to serve the public as per their political manifestos.
Pakistan needs democracy not political unity which is a populist sleaze to avoid democratic accountability. The charter of democracy and/or charter of economy are nothing but political parties cross-dressing like their western counterparts on traditional right-left political spectrums for vested stakes. The split mandate of 2024 elections is a unique opportunity for all political parties to restore politics of right and left to serve their constituencies and defeat populism forever.
The fault lines of political parties are Pakistan’s greatest strengths. If PPP does not want privatization, it should make its case. Bilawal should stand with people even if Zardari and other leaders’ fight for power. Real PPP should show how privatization has failed in the UK, EU and US. Educate Pakistan about fallouts of privatization in the West including cost of living crisis, poverty, unemployment, lower wages, crime, deindustrialization, steel, railways, post office, healthcare, education, savings and pensions.
PMLN should take a stand for industry. It should show the country how the party plans to serve the informal economy including cottage industry, SME, which constitutes 94 percent of the country’s economy and size of $650bn (the Dawn). It has the country’s maximum jobs, revenue and growth. What are its plans about value addition? How will the party bring a balanced budget with tax reforms, savings and economic policies? How will it fortify a country’s security in areas of housing, food, water, seed and defense?
Opposition parties should play their due role in serving the masses. As a government in waiting, they should hold the government’s feet to fire. They should bring policies on improving social mobility, education (brain drain; paying billions in taxes to host countries), good governance, policing, and dispensation of justice while cutting cost of living, social security programs. How they plan to improve public services, constitutional protections and rights based on global indexes to serve the public instead of political point scoring.
A split mandate is offering a perfect level playing field for all political parties. They can give youth a 100 percent stake in the Pakistani dream in their own way. That is why it is an ideal time for all political parties to uphold their visions to serve the youth. It will allow the country to progress on the road to democracy. Due to the flexibility of the political system, sky’s the limit to serve the nation. This is the only way to strengthen the political parties and democracy at the grassroots and defeat populism.
Accordingly, it is the need of the hour to restore the parliamentary system. Local governments are required to serve democracy with public funds with democratic checks and balances of state through bureaucracy with police and anti-corruption under the DC system (independent police fails in UK and US). The federal government should ruthlessly enforce international anti-corruption and anti-money laundering legislations for controlling, recovery and protection of public funds.
Due to one page policies, the world has witnessed forever wars, cost of living crisis and unemployment. It includes privatization, deindustrialization and abandoning of the gold standard. As a result, the West is facing the rise of populism and economic meltdown. Biden gave $369bn to revive industry but it has failed (Why Biden’s big bet on industrial policies may not pay off, 25 Sept 2023, CNBC). The EU is facing an economic emergency despite giving €672bn industrial subsidy (17 Jan 2023, Euro News).
Internationally, the debate on the future of NATO shows return of democratic control of wars to EU member states. The end of the security umbrella has left Europe with increased defense spending and reviewing their national nuclear doctrines. Pakistan’s armed forces befitting responses bear testimony to successful national security policy. Pakistan needs to review constitutional changes including 18th Amendment to strengthen trichotomy of power including review of 57% v 43% of provinces.
Political parties should return to their original visions to make Pakistan a strong midsize power in the region. Parliament can educate the public to deal with tough questions of the IMF, benefitting from informal economy, debt, and taxation to revive the economy. Pakistan has an out of box opportunity to restore democracy and defeat populism by upholding its constitution besetting advanced Western democracies due to balance of power in the center with zero democratic system of checks and balances.
—The writer is senior political analyst based in Islamabad.
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Toss up for democracy not populist sleaze
