Can the Youtube clip become MMS?

Yousuf Raza Gillani has become PM in MMS (Manmohan Singh) fashion. But can he do what Dr Singh is famous for?Dr Singh will, however, never do what Gillani is famous for.

Before he became prime minister of Pakistan, Yousuf Raza Gillani was more famous for his wandering hands, if not for a wandering eye, than his skills as politician or administrator. His sneaky left hand made famous by Youtube could snake through gaps even firebrand feminist and Benazir confidante Sherry Rehman failed to imagine.

In politics too, Gillani has sneaked through the gap between Asif Ali Zardari’s ambitions and political compulsions. In the tradition of sibling rivalry between Midnight’s Children, there are murmurs about the similarity between him and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Dr Singh had proved his worth long before he became the Prime Minister. Last time Singh was a minister, he saved the Indian economy from a debt disaster. Last time Gillani was a minister, he was convicted for corruption. He spent five years in the notorious Adiala prison. There is absolutely no similarity between the cool Sikh at the helm in New Delhi and the Saraiki-speaking Multani of the Gilani clan in Islamabad.

Gillani has miles to go. There are similarities, however, in their ascent to power.
Manmohan Singh was not picked because he was the strongest candidate for the post. The non-political politician and economist was the weakest. Today he is anything but that, but he became Prime Minister because he was the least trouble-causing in the rabble-rousing ranks of the Congress Party. Stronger candidates could engage in machinations that could undermine the ruling family. The ruling family itself could not take the prize. Rahul Gandhi was too young and Mrs Sonia Gandhi was faced with an Italian-origin roadblock. Dr Singh was supposed to be the man who would keep the seat warm for the family. Some of those fears have vanished now, thanks to Dr Singh’s clean and well-meaning image and the Family’s decision to let him be.

Gillani too has not been picked for his strengths, but that of the other candidate, Makhdum Amin Fahim. He has been picked because Pakistan People’s Party, the single largest party in Pakistani parliament, could not just hand over the Bhutto legacy to Fahim, Benazir’s closest aide. Fahim is respected by party cadres, who have still not been able to accept Zardari as their own. Besides, Zardari did not contest the elections and one has to be a Member of Parliament to be eligible for the prime minister’s post. Bilawal, Benazir’s son, is too young to take over. Fahim had the following and experience to grab the lion’s share of power, thus making the Family seem less powerful.

Congress in India allowed a powerful and experienced politician, P.V. Narasimha Rao, to become Prime Minister and the Telugu Brahmin outwitted not only the Opposition but also his own party’s power centres as he went on to rule for full five years. The Family drew power from the party but Rao ran the government as he wished. It was Rao who made Manmohan Singh a politician. Power made P.V. Narasimha Rao a power centre.
Zardari could not afford to make the same mistake.