Lack of Internal Democracy

The ruling party's major problem is coping with the volatility within; as complacency tends to increase with time. It is fallacious to presume that the combined opposition, with its subjective goals, would solely usurp the credit for bringing the regime down before the next general election. There are several other factors which indirectly weaken a political party.

One is the internal dissatisfaction, which, in the case of the ruling party, is now openly noticeable by the public. There have been belated moves to mollify some powerful dissenters through expansion and reshuffling of the cabinet - too top heavy, without the technical and dynamic thrust, being led by a charismatic leader.

The latter is always a weakness, in the long run, and in public interest, as sycophants take advantage of the situation, and meeting the public demands fall short of the target. There are too many ad hoc decisions; and arbitrary rulings are more frequent than justified in good governance. How far a colleague can influence the leader of the party is worth analysing, in situations where loyalties are volatile and floor-crossing is a political culture accepted rather cynically.

If a party thinks it is powerful, then it is weak, and cracks would show sooner than later. The fourth year of governance is a good period for evaluation of the situation. The quality of governance is up not up to public evaluation, and the weak links in the chain are more exposed. The momentum of the gaddi may prove illusory, as problems prop up at unexpected places and times, similar to the case where the next hot bubble in boiling mud cannot be predicted, even through computer simulation.

In the developing countries, where the presence of political instability is inherent, more energy has to be devoted to strengthening the party bases than is usually the case. The case for Bangladesh has been extreme, with a vacuum of long 16 years; and the poor show of practising democracy during the decade of the '90s. The politicians are not speaking from a position of strength, taking a perspective view.

Also too much attention has to be paid to keep the opposition at bay, and that much energy is being diverted from the national aspirations. Here the equation between the opposition and the position is deplorable, as both sides play up on the anti-national theme in respect of the opponent, and the extremity of the allegations are such that neighter party is considered fit to rule! surely the politicians are not inviting a third force to take over (once again)!

The political base is narrow and shallow, therefore erecting the pillars of democracy will take time. Since this is the period of political entrepreneurship, the political trend cannot be predicted with any degree of accuracy. Room at the top is necessary for ventilation of the younger aspirants to leadership. This space is not forthcoming under an unstable climate. The dependence on violence of the political system is going to retard the flowering of democracy. The operation clean-up stage has to come.

The role of the opposition culture is in the stage of development, and will take time to radiate self-confidence. There is too much ad-hocism in hurried stances and this hurriedness is due to the environment of political and economic insecurity in newly emerging nations. Insecurity encourages hurried game plans, and instant solutions are sought without the establishment of the foundation in proper depth and breadth. The intolerance to ideas and options is another stumbling block towards building up a healthy political culture. According to natural laws, instability must pave way for environmental stability, for conservation of energy.

The news from the opposition camp is not the collaboration of the opposition alliance, but the emergence of a new political party, the leader comprising a dissident from the ruling camp, with a background which cannot be dismissed flippantly (trained, commanding in battlefields). The ruling party's violent hard line on the defector has not been liked publicly; and the Bengalee public mood is unpredictable, in the sense that the Bengalee mind had been historically anti-establishment, and the mass is fond of changes. Now the pulling-down formula is in full application since the early '90s.

The Bengalee political leadership had been passing through the baptism of fire and brimstone. Since adversity and challenges mould the character, the future generation seems to be assured of filtered leadership by the mid-century, if not earlier. There is no hope for despair, as we are all still paying the price of freedom - the price cannot be paid in a super short period of nine months - it takes ten months even for a baby to be born!