THE perils of running a government built around key people who have no stake — or faith — in the future are evident and there is no point wasting space or time underlining these. The most important of these is that it squashes the party’s youthful impulse. If the oldies with no hope in the future continue to occupy key slots till 2009, it damages the party in many ways. It takes away from the party its strongest edge against its rivals, a young leadership. The BJP, the Left, the Third Front, even put together, cannot match the team of younger Congress men and women already in active politics, from Rahul Gandhi to Priya Dutt. But if all of them have to serve a period of internship till 2009 while the oldies plot and plan for their sinecures, the party is looking down the barrel. Second, it leaves the government very tired and ineffectual.

Forget the 9.4 per cent growth for a moment. Just look at the sectors not performing: mines, coal, power. You’d notice that quarter after quarter, these sectors remain stagnant while the rest of the economy moves and for none of these you can blame any allies. All three are with the Congress. On the other hand, many of the sectors with the allies are moving forward: aviation, railways, even ports and telecom. The voter, today, is far too smart to miss this. Or, to not ask what purpose Ola, Antulay and Mahabir Prasad are serving in this cabinet. No surprise then, also, that the functioning Congress ministers in this cabinet, Pranab, Chidambaram, Kamal Nath, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Kapil Sibal and Ambika Soni are also the only ones in the A team that see a future beyond 2009.

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