In attendance

President Pratibha Patil8217;s aides are angry. Barely a quarter of the members of Brazil8217;s senate showed up to hear her speak this week at the start of her first diplomatic tour. The president8217;s staff took up the matter with the external affairs ministry, reportedly only to be told that the foreign office could hardly House train Brazilian senators. On the second leg of her three-nation tour, Patil8217;s entourage was better prepared and alerted the Indian mission to prevent a repeat in Mexico. Alas, her proposed address to a joint session of Mexico8217;s parliament had to be cancelled because left-leaning legislators had blockaded it as part of a protest against their government8217;s energy reform legislation.

In a way the two appointments overseas 8212; one kept underwhelmingly and the other in breach 8212; make a point about our politics. The nature of India8217;s presidency is very different from the office of the head of government. As head of state, the president holds mostly a ceremonial post, the only real 8212; and enormously important 8212; power in her hands being the discretion of calling a person to form a government and asking the government of the day to seek a majority in Lok Sabha. For this reason, the UPA and its Left allies were keen to have as A.P.J. Abdul Kalam8217;s successor a person who would be less unpredictable. What they forgot was that the presidency commands attention in proportion to the stature and engaging qualities of the incumbent. Take the two most popular presidents so far: S. Radhakrishnan was the scholar of Rashtrapati Bhavan, and Kalam the people8217;s representative.

But Patil8217;s visit says something more about Indian politics. The spectacle of her address being held up by domestic politics in Mexico has relevance here. Recall the Left8217;s boycott of American President George W. Bush8217;s visit two years ago. The irony may be lost on communist MPs. But the episode underlines the need to observe diplomatic niceties and not allow domestic politics to get enmeshed with them.