Partly Facetious: Coronavirus challenge: democracies not doing well

28 Apr, 2020

"I was saddened."

"I know the numbers dying in this country from coronavirus..."

"That saddens me, but that's not what I was referring to."

"The way democracies around the world are dealing with this pandemic is sad."

"I don't get you."

"Those in opposition are government bashing, or playing politics when their people are dying is kind of sad don't you think. Trump is focused on winning the elections scheduled for 3rd November this year and The Labour party is criticizing the measures that the Boris Johnson government is taking to deal with the virus."

"Ah but the success of the opposition is directly proportional to the success or otherwise of their government measures."

"I thought it was a measure of the success of the leader in terms of bringing the country together and where the government is being perceived as failing the leader is losing public support..."

"And then there is Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Macron who have gained popular support since the pandemic."

"OK, you know for a minute I thought you were referring to The Khan who can't stand any opposition leader..."

"Other than those he inducts in his cabinet?"

"Don't be facetious but let me bring it to your notice that in this country given that the Prime Minister and the establishment are on the same page then all the King's men and....and All the King's women will ..."

"The nursery rhyme is all the King's horses, not women..."

"You gotta adjust with the changing times, I mean men and women both have equal votes in a democracy besides cars and jeeps and tanks and airplanes and fighter jets have replaced horses."

"And that is precisely why I was sad - with one woman down, need I add the most vocal of them all..."

"Firdous Ashiq Awan did well for the time that she ran the show, I mean she wasn't a founder member of the party and she wasn't sold on the ideology of the party and ..."

"Is Hafeez Sheikh? Is Razzak Dawood? Is Umer Ayub? Is Syed Fakhar Imam? Is Khusro Bakhtiar? Is Container Shah? Is......"

"One name would have sufficed."

"I aint finished yet."

"OK, but these guys are now just as loyal to The Khan as they were to Musharraf and as Firdous Ashiq Awan was to all those she served in the past and..."

"And all those she will serve in future, as would all the other names I mentioned."

"That's true."

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