Sonia, and not so far?

We know now where the Congress stands on the Volcker issue. So does the Congress. It would have been better for the party had Sonia Gandhi...

We know now where the Congress stands on the Volcker issue. So does the Congress. It would have been better for the party had Sonia Gandhi8217;s no-nonsense position8212;the guilty will be punished, the report isn8217;t a rightwing conspiracy8212;been articulated earlier. Natwar Singh would have left faster and talked less and the government and the party, respectively, would have been spared embarrassment and seeming enfeeblement. The first lesson for Sonia Gandhi, therefore, is that given the Congress8217;s deeply centralised structure, her silence on substantive controversies costs the party8212;and the government8212;dear. The second lesson, which is also an opportunity, is that her clear message on Volcker can and must be broadened. Perceptive Congress leaders must have noticed that their party was losing the plot on issues other than who took Saddam8217;s petro dinars.

For one, Left ultimata are being handed out faster than red paper flags at CPM rallies. On Iran, Marxists have hinted that the prime minister is being less than fully vigilant about national interest. That the insinuation doesn8217;t stand scrutiny is less important than the fact that it was made at all. The prime minister must command more regard, the coalition8217;s leading party, more respect. For the NDA, Atal Bihari Vajpayee played, largely with finesse, both the institutional and political roles. In the UPA, the job is split between Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. But the onus is more on the latter. If she carries forward the spirit of her Volcker statement to issues of coalitional practice, she gives a chance to her party and her PM to negotiate better on not only Iran but also reforms. The pension bill, remember, is coming up in the winter session. Budget consultations will begin soon. A Sonia Gandhi more willing to talk loud and straight will also help smart allies like Sharad Pawar, perhaps the only UPA leader to openly oppose the Left on Iran.

Pawar is also a pretty solid component of a cabinet that otherwise has a bit too much plywood, and some deadwood. Correcting that is the other pending issue for Sonia Gandhi8212;and Manmohan Singh. Volcker8217;s unwitting carpentry has created a welcome hole in the MEA. HRD, to give only one more example, needs a boss who knows how crucial modern education is for jobs. Sonia knows how crucial job creation is for her party8217;s electoral chances. Those chances haven8217;t been given a boost by the cabinet8217;s overall work. Poor performance and politics are bigger vote losers than petroleum and pelf scandals.