When INC met ANC

But let us first talk personalities, party politics and elections. Both the Congress parties are led by strong personalities 8212; Jacob Zuma and Sonia Gandhi 8212; who enjoy the support of the party faithful. Neither heads the government, though, which is led by cerebral but dour personalities. Manmohan Singh draws legitimacy from being Sonia Gandhi8217;s handpicked choice for PM. Thabo Mbeki, at the other end, draws legitimacy from being a proteacute;geacute; of Nelson Mandela. Ironically enough, both party leaders are more popular and arguably more powerful than their heads of government. Of course, both Zuma and Gandhi have got to their positions differently. Sonia Gandhi inherited the party from her family, while Zuma won a bitterly contested party election against Mbeki. The INC can certainly take a lesson or two in intra-party democracy from the ANC.

As for the elections in 2009, the ANC will win in South Africa and the INC will certainly not win a majority on its own in India. What is uncertain is whether Zuma will be president of South Africa and whether the INC can return to power at the head of another coalition. The ANC, now in a comfortable electoral zone like the INC till 1977, would do well to observe the continuously declining electoral fortunes of the INC over the last few decades. Power cannot be taken for granted even by a party which won freedom for its people.

What about the long-term challenges? Both South Africa and India have performed well economically over the last 15-20 years. Both the INC and ANC can take some credit for this 8212; both parties initiated liberal economic reform discarding a moribund statist economy. Unfortunately, blame tends to stick more than credit. And both parties often find themselves on the defensive against accusations of economic growth not being inclusive enough. It is tempting, therefore, for both parties to feel the occasional urge to veer leftwards to more statist economics. Zuma, in fact, defeated Mbeki by promising a left turn to party workers. A majority of the INC would probably like the same directional change. However, this would be a folly. Both parties should remain committed to liberal economic policies, which have clearly done better than earlier dirigiste policies, but they should work on redistributing some of the benefits of growth to the poor more effectively 8212; direct cash transfers, investing in education and health, improving the delivery of public services etc. In this, they would do well to learn from the experience of more successful centre-left parties like New Labour in the UK and the Workers Party in Brazil, which have been able to sustain liberal economic reform without suffering electoral reverses.

Economics aside, both parties need to do much to improve the quality of leadership 8212; both in terms of competence and integrity. The ANC, while voting for change, has voted in Jacob Zuma, a man accused of corruption and other questionable practices 8212; including having unprotected sex with an HIV positive woman in a country facing an AIDS crisis. Similarly, the Congress, too, chooses to stick with its geriatric and often incompetent leadership. Neither of the two grand old parties promises to throw up any pleasant leadership surprises like Barack Obama in the US, or David Cameron in the UK.

Politically, too, both the ANC and INC are often caught pandering to conservative interests while giving short shrift to their natural liberal constituencies. The INC has often pandered to the religious sentiments of zealots. The INC could have, for example, burnished its liberal credentials by repealing the draconian Article 377, which makes homosexuality a criminal offence. The list of liberal grievance is much longer. South Africa8217;s ANC has blotted its liberal record by appeasing the tyrannical Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Both Mbeki and Zuma have expressed conservative and unscientific views on HIV, one of the biggest policy challenges facing their country.

For the moment, both parties seem soulless, compromised and bereft of fresh ideas. The challenges are aplenty. So are the opportunities. Perhaps it8217;s harder to introspect than to learn by example. The bilateral meeting of the parties should hopefully facilitate the latter. They say that nothing is impossible in politics. So the ageing Congress parties may yet get a new life. For the sake of liberal politics, in a world increasingly gripped by conservatism, one has to hope that they get their act together.

dhiraj.nayyarexpressindia.com