“Why would one brother meeting another take the media with him?”
“There is William the Conqueror, Alfred the Great, Arnulf the Evil (Bavaria), Il Duce (Mussolini)…”
“What does Il Duce mean?”
“It’s Italian for Leader, some translate Duce as the guide….why are you looking smug?”
“The Man Who Must Remain Nameless and Faceless refers to his third wife as his spiritual guide, so I hereby anoint her Il Duce.”
“Il Duce is for males and I think there is no female equivalent for II Duce so perhaps you can refer to her as Duchessa.”
“It would be facetious to refer to her as Duchessa while she is in jail, how about when she is wearing that gorgeous necklace that the Saudis gifted her which has not yet been retrieved by the state.”
“We have a clear policy: malign the one gifted as much as we can, but gifts are not returned to the toshakhana.”
“I suggest toshakhana III….”
“Let it go anyway as I began to say there are many leaders who were awarded an epithet before their names, and I reckon our Shehbaz Sharif is the Great Balancer.”
“I fully agree - he strikes the right balance where ever he goes – a balance between forces that one would assume are how shall I put it? You remember the phrase all are equal but some are more equal than others so how about some are more balanced than others….”
“The operative word with respect to our past leadership is unbalanced, so the phrase should be some are more unbalanced than others.”
“Oh shush anyway I thought Shehbaz Sharif’s family also has a residence in Raiwind.”
“Shehbaz Sharif has several residences and he prefers to stay away from Raiwind I heard.”
“That is his choice but you think getting the news on television that he visited his brother….”
“Is part of the balancing act.”
“OK fair enough – was the third wheel there too?”
“Third wheel?”
“The Chief Minister Punjab.”
“Wash your mouth with soap – amongst the three she is not the third wheel.”
“So who is the third wheel then? Nawaz Sharif because he holds no office and…”
“No way.”
“That leaves only Shehbaz Sharif and he is the Great Balancer you said.”
“Hey life isn’t about one epithet per person – sometimes you can have more than one….”
“Dear Lord, this is….”
“What I don’t say in words I haven’t said get it pal!”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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