As the modest 57-year-old with a fantastic academic track-record took up the top job, Facebook and Twitter walls – and not to forget, newspapers´ columns – got flooded with congratulations. The euphoria swept the remote hills of Gorkha, where he was born; it gripped the JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) campus in New Delhi, where he earned his doctorate degree. The kick-start of his tenure couldn´t have looked more spectacular. Will the rest of his term – and that of his team mates – look ditto? Will he and his cabinet ministers live up to the mountain of people´s expectations?
Right now, though, his challenges remain— intact and un-tackled.
POLITICAL CHALLENGES
First trouble first. The moment Maoist Chairman Prachanda convinced the commanders of the Maoist ex-combatants into handing over the keys of the weapons´ containers to reps of the multi-party Special Committee (for management, integration and rehabilitation of the ex-combatants), trouble started within his own party. Saying the handover amounts to "surrender" and "suicide", the faction led by Vice Chairman Mohan Baidya ‘Kiran’ opposed the move. Despite several rounds of dialogue, the lingering differences within the former rebel party refuges to die down. They keep replaying.
Pity they have already dealt a blow to Bhattarai´s performance. The internal wrangling has already jeopardized Bhattarai´s plans to expand the council of ministers (some have started calling it "council of deputy prime ministers" thanks to the growing number of deputies). If it festers on, it can throw the plans and dreams conceived by Bhattarai the popular doctor-sahab into limbo. Against such backdrop, the sooner Bhattarai and Prachanda can manage the internal differences, the easier it will be for the new government to work on peace-building.
And, the sooner the parties can complete the tasks of integration and rehabilitation, the sooner they can start negotiations, and consequently agree, on the provisions of the new constitution. As both are mammoth missions, Bhattarai will also need to get the Opposition Nepali Congress and CPN-UML onboard. All the while, he will need to take his party hardliners onboard – and make sure that the coalition partner, the Madhesi Front, is equally honest and sincere. Put together, it´s a Herculean task before him indeed.
The Golchhas and the other aspiring motor car makers must ensure that their cars are Nepali terrain friendly. Even better, if they are zero emission and can easily compete with Nissan´s Leaf. We are free to dream. But having chosen Mustang Max, Bhattarai must act. He´s got to make sure that his actions are no gimmick.
ECONOMIC CHALLENGES
When he was the finance minister, Bhattarai was praised for his efforts to generate revenues and keep discipline. Two years later, as the economy teeters at the brink with an unimpressive growth rate and a myriad of other challenges, time has brought him back as chief executive. So the masses will want to see: If he can deal with the labor problem – seen as the biggest stumbling block – head-on and improve the investment climate.
It will be tricky. For most of the labor unions spearheading the recent wave of strikes grew up under his party´s umbrella. What will complicate matters is the fact that these factions are deeply divided (one of the factions´ top leader, Shalikram Jamarkattel, was attacked with a sharp weapon in the capital recently). It´s clearly a hostile environment for everybody. And for Bhattarai, the man in the hot seat right below the Damocles´ Sword, it´s doubly so.
So, nothing short of solid backing from his party – and if possible other parties – can help Bhattarai hit the ball home. If only he could take out a magic wand and resolved the labor problem once and for all. Then we could expect him to graduate to larger issues such as attracting capital, creating jobs, and stopping the continuing flights of Nepalis abroad. That´s record high currently, with 1,000 Nepalis leaving via Kathmandu international airport alone every day. There´s no count on how many cross over into the Indian plains from the open border.
MUSTANG REVOLUTION
The makers of Mustang cars, the Golchhas, are happy that Bhattarai chose to cruise around in their latest design, the Mustang max. By opting for Mustang, Bhattarai laid bare his deep love and appreciation for Nepali products. Kudos. But what about his fellow ministers, especially the ones supposedly championing the cause of Tarai, or Madhes, the flatland of the south where Mustang cars are actually made (assembled)? Will they emulate Bhattarai? No such indications as yet.
Yet in the days to come, Bhattarai or his Finance Minister Barshaman Pun ‘Ananta’ must make sure that the makers of Mustang must get a pat in the back in the form of tax and other incentives. Plus, the Golchhas and the other aspiring motor car makers must ensure that their cars are Nepali terrain friendly – a tough job given that Nepali roads are amongst the toughest on the earth. Even better, if they are zero emission and can easily compete with Mahindra´s electric Reva, or Nissan´s Leaf. We are free to dream. But having chosen Mustang Max, Bhattarai must act. He´s got to make sure that his actions are no gimmick.
The writer, a mountain bike lover, is compelled to drive a foreign-made, air-polluting car to work
nepal.surendra@gmail.com
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