Daily Times

To be loyal is out of fashion. Gone are the days when people stayed in the same organisations, parties and relationships till death do them part. In today’s world, the rules of loyalty have changed. Hard work has been replaced by smart work, being faithful is termed as being wishful and hopping around for greener pastures is considered pure wisdom. Thus, when you talk of sticking it out in one organisation or one party, you are either considered a ‘loser’ or somebody who does not have business or political acumen. The current wave of political defections is thus not a matter that is extraordinary but means just going along with the times where society is in dire need of finding the right mix of people in one particular party to truly represent their demands and aspirations.

The whole social order in the world, and in Pakistan, has changed. Joint family systems used to be the nucleus of living together and creating an acceptance towards sharing and supporting. The fact that so many different people lived together under one roof did create problems and differences but, at the same time, built values of sharing, tolerating, controlling your emotions and respecting other people. However, the joint family system had its flaws of interference and lack of space to enjoy your own individuality as a person and not be uniformed by family norms. As the world has become global and the western style of ‘each to his own’ has become fashionable, the joint family system has faded into nothingness. Teenagers are keen to exercise their will long before teenage descends on them. They are much more aware, exposed and knowledgeable about the world thanks to this era of Google where what is happening around the world is just a touch or a click away. Thus, for this generation, the awareness of what they are and what they can have is much stronger than in earlier generations. They are not content with what the family wants — they want exactly what they want. With immense peer pressure in schools and colleges, they are not products of family norms and values but are more influenced by what websites and Facebook tell them. When these very children grow up, become productive members of society and go out to work and establish family lives, they are of course going to be a different breed of people with a new way of thinking and behaving.

Thus, what we see in organisations is extreme dissatisfaction in the workplace environment. Having been brought up to boost individuality, their attitude towards putting up with the strains of an organisational environment is cynical. Those who find that the going is tough are immediately out to find other opportunities; even those who are happy with their jobs feel that greener pastures must be explored or they will lose out on a better harvest that exists elsewhere. Thus, job-hopping is considered a trait of ambition and aspiration. Similarly, in personal relationships, the concept of putting up with in-laws or with each other’s differences has undergone a sea change. Relationships are broken on the basis that a few years ago would be considered ridiculous and new ones are formed as fast as the older ones are discarded.

The social order, of course, has a strong bearing on personal, professional and political orders as well. What we see in the political landscape are people shifting their political fidelities. Everyday comes an announcement of some old or new party stalwart announcing his defection and expressing the desire to join a new party. The sudden spurt of political defections is of course due to many changes in the political scenario. Pakistan was basically a two party stronghold for most of its political history with the PML-N and PPP being the main contenders, Musharraf gave birth to the PML-Q league to secure himself a nine-year tenure in power. The previous history of people playing musical chairs and changing seats within these three options was occasional and triggered by either Nawaz Sharif’s horse-trading bets, where he would buy loyalties, or Musharraf’s lure of power. Presently, the emergence of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as a serious third option has given the chance to many who were stuck within their party’s folds due to lack of choice. Defection from a party and joining another one is on a multifold basis. First, there is the unhappy politician. This may be due to the party itself not being happy with you and asking you to leave or you not being happy with the party and deciding to leave. Secondly, there is the opportunist politician. He is somebody who is always weighing the costs and benefits of staying or shifting. Whenever he finds that he is likely to get more prominence and more return for his investment, he makes the move. Mian Azhar belongs to the first cadre of politicians who, due to irreconcilable differences, left the PML-N and preferred to stay out of politics as none of the other options appealed to him until the PTI emerged as an option that matched his political beliefs. Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who had been extremely unhappy with the PPP and had already tasted the PML-N’s political menu, decided that his affections were now going to be with the PTI. Whether this is an alignment of political belief or just political opportunism, only time will tell. On the sidelines, many a politician is packing his/her bags and is ready to jump over. For the PPP and the PML-N, it is really a time of reflection and reconsideration of their political stance and future, and for the PTI it is also a time of reflection and reconsideration.

The denial route of the PPP and other parties of dismissing these defections as part and parcel of people who are power hungry is again a dangerous evasion of reality. Such an attitude always bodes ill for the vision and wisdom of the people leading the party. Similarly, for PTI to assume that all these joinings are a sincere awakening of patriotism for the country would be an equal folly. For the existing parties, the cause of defections should require a serious re-examination of the erosion of their brand appeal internally and externally. Similarly, for PTI, a rigorous screening test of who is aligned to their vision and has the credibility and capability to deliver are the correct criteria for opening the doors for eager political suitors. As they say, the real test of leadership is in two situations: in times of failure and in times of success.

The writer is a consultant and can be reached at andleeb.abbas1@gmail.com