Consensus government crucial

Having failed to take a single memorable step toward advancing the faltering peace process in his over-six-month tenure, Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal has finally resigned. We praise his admission that he has failed miserably to make much-needed headway in bringing the major political forces on board for writing the constitution and concluding the peace process. But we are also sorry that the country has yet again wasted a precious half-year. Now, as the clock ticks inexorably toward the extended August-end deadline for the Constituent Assembly, we believe the people are anxiously watching whether the big political parties will be able to forge agreement on a national consensus government.



This newspaper has long rooted for a national consensus government, participated in and owned by all the major political parties, including the alliance of Madhes-based parties commonly known as United Democratic Madhesi Front. We feel that the resignation of PM Khanal, which was one of the points in the five-point deal for extending the Constituent Assembly (CA) by three months, has created a perfect environment for forming just such a government that will duly complete the immense tasks of writing a republican constitution and winding up the protracted peace process. Making all-out effort to form a national unity government will, we believe, constitute true respect for the deal signed by the three big parties and owned by the CA.



The country has seen coalition governments of practically all possible power equations during the last three years. And we have also seen that none of them was able to fulfill the mandate of the Constituent Assembly election to take the country toward lasting peace. Here we want to stress that the country is no mood to see another majority government coming to power on the basis of yet another deal. The country can no longer shoulder the burden of experimentation with one more power equation, since it has been proven time and again that a majority government alone cannot fulfill the goal of institutionalizing a federal republican structure for Nepal.



It is encouraging that all the major political parties are converging on the need of a consensus government and we are optimistic they will begin, or probably have already begun, serious talks for the purpose of forging an understanding before the August 21 deadline announced Monday by President Ram Baran Yadav. We are hopeful the CA can still achieve some of its goals, though not all, if all the major political parties come onto a common platform and forge a national consensus government for a change.

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