'The Time is Now' for Bangladesh to consolidate its fledgling democracy through the art of compromise. This needs to be done by the political leaders in government and opposition who have the courage to break the current confrontational politics by subordinating their immediate interests to the long-term needs of democracy. Today, political leaders of all parties, particularly the major ones -- Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladesh Awami League (BAL), Bangladesh Jamaat-i-Islami, Jatiya Party and other left, right and centrist parties should withstand the provocations to violence, and conduct politics by peaceful means. They should have the wisdom to recognise that in politics no one has the monopoly of truth or virtue. Political leaders in Bangladesh need to evolve a deliberative democracy through a non-violent method of dialogue, negotiations, compromise, and if necessary, written agreements on contentious issues.

If we look at some of the successful democracies, we can take lessons from many countries across the world where the leaders of key political forces and social groups in society bargained with each other, and worked out acceptable, if not fully satisfying, arrangements for the success of democratisation. In many South American and Eastern European countries, like Brazil, Columbia, Venezuela, Poland, Hungary, leaders of government and opposition political parties arrived at agreements for transition as well as consolidation of democratic systems. In Bangladesh, we now seem to have entered a new phase of democratic governance where structural features of our societies, cultural constraints or economic variables are less important. The more important aspect of politics is how can the political leaders and institutions of governance meet the minimum expectations of the people. Bangladesh now must deal with the "values and processes" that are needed for the consolidation of democracy.

These can only be made by the methods of democracy, and by the political leaders in government and opposition who have the wisdom to negotiate and compromise. The creation of trust in inter-party relations is, therefore, vital at this stage of Bangladesh's democratisation. In fact, the inter-party relations must take on new routes of cooperation, exchange and mutuality of interests.

Obstacles to compromise, and measures to overcome
What are the main sources of contentions that hinder the prospects of compromise and democratic consolidation? The sources come mainly from the political fault-lines of managing a parliamentary system of rule. Bangladesh opted for parliamentary form of government -- a fine choice indeed. But the success of parliamentary system hinges on the skill of compromise and far-sightedness of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, and Members of the Parliament. Unfortunately, their roles and behaviours so far represent the imperfect socialisations of mutually antagonistic subcultures. They use different symbols, beliefs and processes -- creating stress and instability in the system.

The 'politics of boycott' by the opposition in the face of ruling party's unaccommodating stances on many occasions has made the very existence of parliament ineffective and almost meaningless. The tendency of the of political leaders to prefer politics outside parliament rather within it seriously weakened the role of national legislature that often acts as the symbol of democracy, legitimacy and representative government.

The inability of the government to make the Parliament more attractive for the opposition leaders as well as members of the governing party also contributes to the current crisis. The members of the Parliament are new leaders of the democratic era. If the Parliament becomes a 'wasted' forum for words and meaningless controversies, the environment for negotiation and compromise are difficult to achieve on substantive issues of public policies. The 'winners take all' attitude should be replaced by 'sharing and positive-sum attitude'. In fact, all the MPs irrespective of party affiliations should be given opportunities for leadership roles and necessary resource allocations for the improvement of their constituencies and various ministries on which they perform oversight functions.

The leadership of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in a parliamentary system of government is crucial in determining how the system will work. Their leadership depends mainly on engaging, mobilising and inspiring their party leaders, members of the Parliament and workers to perform and cultivate trust of the people.

The offices of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the House should be the places for new ideas, thoughts and best practices for the good of the people, not to be used only to gain or consolidate power for personal glory and party interests.

Democratic consolidation requires some kind of agreement among the major parties on the 'rules of the game'. Thus, notwithstanding the working and operation of a competitive political system for more than a decade, the task of consolidating the nascent democratic system remains extremely difficult.

One of the main reasons is the failure of the top politicians to evolve any stable pattern of the 'rules of the game'. The two parties have alternated in state power since the restoration of democratic rule in the early 1990s. There has been, however, little communication between the highest leadership of the two parties. Both, in fact, look upon each other as adversaries; one tries to prosper at the expense of the other. The two top leaders do not speak to one another; nor is there any meaningful interaction between them. This negative political culture has to be changed in favour of a positive and functional, if not cordial, relational culture.

Today, the two top political leaders of Bangladesh have to show real courage of their leadership -- to sit on the same table and resolve conflicts -- both perceptual as well as substantive for the good of the nation and for the sake of democracy. Tolerance and inclusion are the keywords for the success of democratisation in Bangladesh. The people do not want to end up with 'One-Party Rule' or 'Other Unconstitutional' alternative again ostensibly for the arrogance, intransigence and parochial interests of their highest political leaders. It is a hopeful sign that Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has recently extended her invitation to the Leader of Opposition Sheikh Hasina for a genuine dialogue to resolve conflicts. It is expected that she should respond positively to the invitation in order to assume new roles and new behaviours, more tolerant and performing for the nation. Let us hope that a new democratic politics will emerge in Bangladesh on new meaning and significance by the two top leaders through their sense of responsibility and commitment to the nation leaving behind the old prejudices, enmity and bitterness.

Dr. M. Ataur Rahman is Professor of Political Science, Dhaka University and President, Bangladesh Political Science Association