If the prime minister thought inviting allies from all over the country for lunch would bolster the ruling coalition and give an appearance of strength and unity in the face of the opposition protests, he must have been a little disappointed after it. PML-Q, a very crucial partner in the most crucial province, not only did not attend but also let everybody know why it didn’t. And those that were present were hardly any praise for the prime minister. Instead, they used the little time that they got with him to let him know of the many reasons for their unhappiness. And while specifics varied from lack of development funds to inflation to missing persons, one complaint everybody had in common was that they were neither ever consulted on any matter nor taken on board before important decisions; which is not how politics of coalitions is supposed to work in this country. Nobody really believed the prime minister when he said that things would now be different, of course, or that inflation that has people on the edge would soon be controlled. They have been hearing these things since forever. But everybody almost rolled their eyes back in their heads when he went on about not granting an NRO-like way out to the opposition. For this particular statement does not sit well with the people at all. They want relief from all the suffering, lower prices, more jobs, and all the other usual things. And they simply cannot wait any long because the messiah that was supposed to deliver all that is now busy not giving any corrupt former government official an NRO. Among the things that the lunch meeting would have made the prime minister ralise would be the ineffectiveness of running a very centralised show after making so much noise about proper democratic devolution of power. And if lowering prices “in a few days” and making the corrupt opposition pay are really at the top of his agenda, then why are results not forthcoming on either front? Alienating allies, especially when the combined opposition is on the warpath and has sworn to send the government packing, is the single most harmful thing to do when heading a coalition government. It’s bad enough that the prime minister, no less, did not understand this at the time everybody shook hands and formed the government. But refusing to learn the right lesson could carry very grave consequences for the present dispensation. *