General criticism

The April 30 referendum has guided the spotlight, for the moment, to democracy in Pakistan, rather the lack of it. Amid reports of a referendum that had no voters8217; lists, THE NEW YORK TIMES sounded stern. There can be no room for easing up on terrorism, it reiterated. Or, it was compelled to add, on the promised return to democracy. 8216;Pakistan8217;s dubious referendum8217;, said the NYT, has 8216;8216;actually diminished General Musharraf8217;s stature8217;8217;. But it held out the offer of future redemption through 8216;8216;a vigorously contested parliamentary election8217;8217; in October.

The British media was more unsparing. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH said Musharraf should have either sought election by Parliament, as the 1973 Constitution provides, or Turkish-style, returned the country to a form of civilian government in which the military could have held the ring through a national security council. But 8216;8216;he has taken too much to heart his own propaganda that he alone can save Pakistan from disintegration 8230;8217;8217;

Musharraf8217;s ploy revived some old finger-wagging at a very long line-up 8212; of America8217;s 8216;good dictators8217;. THE OBSERVER said the lesson is clear: America supports democracy when democracy supports America. But when there is no democracy, dictatorships will do just fine, and at times, as in the Arab world, even better.

In Britain, oui non!

If turnout was a sticky point in Pakistan, it has become a sore spot in the UK as well. The British media agonised about how many would vote in the local elections this week. The Le Pen Effect gave old anxieties a new edge: What if a rabble-rouser edged past the winning post while the voters stayed away?

Turnout was so much the focus of these elections, noted the GUARDIAN, that the ballots appeared less a procedure for selecting councillors and more a referendum for democracy itself. The problem, according to the paper, is that young people in Britain are prepared to riot in the name of democracy on May 1, but not to vote in the elections on May 2.

Who is to blame? Parliamentary politics and politicians who have become 8216;boring8217;? But government isn8217;t soap opera or circus, and why must politicians have to make politics interesting? Can boredom excuse apathy? Surely democratic obligations apply as much to dreary times as the lively.

In the GUARDIAN again, Paul Whiteley, professor of government, University of Essex, extended the questioning. The majority of advanced industrial democracies have experienced declining electoral participation. Citizens have begun to think like calculating individualists who do not feel a sense of duty to participate. If your preferred party looks like winning the election, you will get the benefits even if you don8217;t vote simply by riding on the efforts of others. And if your party looks like losing, your vote is not going to change anything anyway. So why not just stay at home?

But the decline in participation is not visible in countries like Denmark which have high levels of 8216;social capital8217; 8212; in which individuals are linked together in networks of civic engagement. So the Professor8217;s solution to the turnout crisis: policies designed to build social capital.

We in India are spared of this problem at least. Our electoral turnout percentages show no significant decline.

So, who is Hu?

As China8217;s heir apparent made his first tour through Washington8217;s power corridors this week, the US media strained to glimpse 8216;the real Hu8217;.

With Hu Jintao giving nothing away, media descriptions didn8217;t venture far beyond 8216;enigmatic8217;. Those who ventured to look behind the man found the interesting bits. The party Hu will inherit, said the NEW YORK TIMES, is scrambling to find new tools of governing into the future. The current churning has its roots in speeches by President Jiang Zemin last year urging the party to 8216;8216;stay in step with the times8217;8217;. And his campaign for the 8216;8216;Three Represents8217;8217;: the communist party should no longer represent just workers but also 8216;8216;advanced productive forces, advanced Chinese culture and the fundamental interests of the majority8217;8217;.

NEWSWEEK pointed to the 8216;successor8217;s dilemma8217;: While Jiang Zemin retains political power, Hu must keep Zemin8217;s trust. But to secure his perch after Jiang is gone, Hu must simultaneously promote his own supporters within the party and the army. If Hu builds his own base too aggressively, he risks alienating Jiang. But if he is too passive, he won8217;t have allies when he needs them.

J Lo, Bill, Atal?!

From Britain8217;s OBSERVER, a winsome proposal. Now that Atal Bihari Vajpayee has his new song on the MTV playlist alongside Jennifer Lopez and Madonna, how about if the next series of Popstars features the 8216;8216;boyband combo8217;8217; of a 8216;8216;guitar-strumming British prime minister, a sax-toting American ex-president and a sensitive Indian pensioner on vocals8217;8217;??