What little has leaked out of the in-camera 'Last Supper' meeting of the federal cabinet, it appears the said session was held in an ambience of doom and gloom. A tearful Prime Minister Gilani is said to have bid farewell to his dearer-than-life colleagues 'who stood with me through thick and thin'. And those colleagues were no less moved, they too 'cried when they spoke of a very good atmosphere they were provided to work'.
The question that begs an answer is, if the cabinet was so good then why not carry on with them? The obvious answer: Had they worked even half as hard and sincerely as the prime minister tried to project, there was no need to seek their resignations en masse. Yes, the prime minister promoted 'national reconciliation' but at the cost of compromising national interests when principles were sacrificed at the altar of appeasement. Why should an elected government barter away its mandate to execute its manifesto? The fact is that the outgoing cabinet acquired an unseemly bloated size, more as a consequence of distributing patronage than the requirement of good governance. That dozens of cabinet ministers faced corruption charges but were allowed to carry on was nothing but a crude affront to the sensitivities of the people.
Also, in the fullness of time, history would judge the so-called spectacular achievements like the constitutional amendments, more as self-serving political machinations to retain the status quo of political empowerment. The other high-profile achievements like the NFC, Balochistan package and giving Gilgit-Baltistan provincial status have yet to find their feet on the ground.
Of course, packing up the federal cabinet to drastically reduce its size to bring it in conformity with the requirements of the constitution is good for the country, but to assume that an effective and efficient replacement is possible is too optimistic an expectation. There is no such thing, as ushering in a New Order, for getting rid of the Old Order appears nearly impossible. It would be patently delusive to imagine that Yousuf Raza Gilani can leave out Rehman Malik, Babar Awan, Amin Faheem, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and such other heavyweights who enjoy President Zardari's confidence and some of whom have more than justified their presence. No doubt with the MQM and possibly the JUI (F) opting out of the new cabinet, the prime minister would be relatively free to pursue his party manifesto. But their absence from the federal cabinet is bound to add to the strength of the parliamentary opposition - and his reliance on PML (N)'s goodwill and co-operation to survive a vote of no-confidence. But then it is also possible that departure of the erstwhile coalition partners brings into play the domino effect that the PPP loses the support of its remaining partners, including the ANP, PML (F) and FATA members. And should Prime Minister Gilani appoint only a dozen ministers in the first phase, as is being given out by knowledgeable sources, the government would give the look of a lame-duck existence waiting to go for fresh elections, obviously spawning political and economic uncertainty.
Accepted, Prime Minister Gilani has the opportunity, fully endorsed by President Zardari to change faces and put in place a new-look federal cabinet. But that is not all what the people want; they want the government to deliver on issues that affect their day-to-day life. They want better law and order, drastic reduction in inflation, more jobs and transparency in government based on merit; things like that which are beyond the capacity of the present dispensation. The real problem so far has been the absence of a common minimum programme acceptable to all coalition partners.
The PPP-led government stands accused by its coalition partners of never taking them into confidence on issues of national importance, generating conflicts with the latter that too have their own agenda, in line with their constituents' aspirations and expectations. Indeed, the challenges that are waiting to confront the new cabinet are too formidable to breed optimism. But should the upcoming cabinet succeed in forging a minimum common agenda in confidence with other power centres and work sincerely for its realisation, some success at the end is achievable. Mistakes committed in the earlier phases are correctable but the ones committed in the lame-duck period may exact a heavy price at the next election.