Daily Times

Barack Obama’s rise to the presidency in 2009 gave hope to millions across the globe. A man of colour, born to immigrant parents, getting elected to the top office of a white-dominated superpower made many think that the world might still have something to offer to someone of ordinary birth. His election set a precedence that changed the discourse around electoral campaigns not only in America but around the world.

There is, however, at least one democracy still left where even today, the top office is a birthright. As veterans of that country’s political dynasties ready their next generation to take turns in public offices for the next few decades, can the common young men or women, aspire to lead their country one day? The answer is negative. They can become doctors and engineers, pilots and lawyers or whatever else they want, but in the land of the pure, leadership runs in the blood of a few.

Since its inception, Pakistan has been ruled by the elite who had no actual connection with ordinary life. It can be plausibly said that Pakistan, especially in the last three decades, has not had a Prime Minister who ever had to live his life on a budget, manage his grocery and utility bills or even make an actual household purchase from a shop in Pakistan. These leaders, without any real-life experience of working a job outside politics, remain aloof to the miseries of a commoner’s life.

Political parties in Pakistan are family-run businesses where those not from the family can only rise to the second tier, at best.

Embarrassing as it is the only times Pakistan was ruled by someone born to working-class parents, someone who grew up going to public schools and playing among ordinary street children, someone who grew old budgeting their expenses, were the Martial Law administrators. In simpler words, the only path an ordinary child can take to reach the top government offices is itself unconstitutional and the only ones of ordinary birth who reached these offices did so by usurping power. This is, in no way, meant to legitimize unelected governments but to only highlight the design flaw that makes the country’s entire democratic apparatus paradoxical.

Political parties in Pakistan are family-run businesses where those not from the family can only rise to the second tier, at best. The chieftains of these parties surround themselves with personal confidants, mostly from family, thus reducing their support group to an echo chamber where familial respect trumps sanity and forming a culture where party decisions are taken at family meetings instead of party conventions. For its part, PPP dared to bring, in Yousaf Raza Gilani, a Prime Minister not from the Bhutto or Zardari family. It is another thing that Prime Minister Gilani too ended up getting disqualified trying to shield President Zardari from prosecution.

The other major dynastic party; the N League, is a strictly family-only affair. If and only if Nawaz can’t become the Prime Minister, Shahbaz will. Who would then fill his spot in Punjab? Not the Khawajas, not Ahsan, not Malik Ahmed, only a Sharif, only a direct descendant, only Maryam. It was only when Nawaz was disqualified and Punjab was too unstable to afford a change that Shahid Khaqan was brought in as a make-do Prime Minister. A man without a political legacy, he presented no threat. In their earlier tenures, Ghulam Hyder and Dost Muhammad Khosa headed the Punjab governments but they too did not have enough to pose a threat to the dynasty.

It is surprising that these parties then expect loyalty and devotion from their voters, supporters and ordinary citizens without giving them any share in power. These parties, though democratic in name, have over the years grown increasingly dictatorial and the chances of grassroot-level workers rising to prominence are few. Anatol Lieven, in his book; Pakistan: a Hard Country, quoted a Pakistani businessman as, “One of the main problems of Pakistan is that our democrats have tried to be dictators and our dictators have tried to be democrats.”

The establishment on the other hand is an entirely different affair. For decades, its role in politics has been rightly opposed, yet all politicians seem eager to earn favour with it. The reason; changing faces. While political parties continue to drag their feet with the same old faces, the establishment offers new packaging every few years. The old political faces, worn out by tons of political baggage accumulated over decades, do not stand a chance against someone who has a fresh face with no baggage almost every three years. It has a well-set-up process in place that ensures the induction of fresh blood into its stream.

A large majority of even the officer cadre in the military comes from lower and middle-class backgrounds through a relatively fair selection process thus ensuring an actual connection with the public. Unfortunately, it remains the only edifice that gives the poor a real opportunity to reach offices of national influence without requiring financial capital or specific family names. While it has its share of blame in the current state of the country, it has always been the politicians who, one if not the other, have perpetually lent it their shoulder only to maintain their relevance.

The common Pakistanis have long been disenfranchised by politics. They know that in this game of snakes and ladders, for them, the snakes are many and ladders a few and playing against those with only ladders, they do not stand a chance. They refuse to associate any hope with the old men afraid to transfer power even to their children. They know that in their country, the power struggle is a paradox where only those can come to power who commit to cede all power.

As veterans of this country’s political dynasties ready for the next generation to take turns in public offices for the next few decades, can a young man or woman, aspire to lead their country one day? The answer is negative. They can become doctors and engineers, pilots and lawyers or whatever else they want, but in the land of the pure, leadership runs in the blood of a few.

The writer is a veteran journalist based in Islamabad. He writes on social, political, economic, defence and strategic developments across the South Asian region. He can be reached through email: zm.journalist@gmail.com