Opinion New York resolution

During his first term as the prime minister,Dr Singh got much deserved credit for seeking to elevate India’s international political standing in the world and reclaim its rightful place in the global nuclear order.

In the normal course of circumstances,the prime minister’s New York trip should have marked a fresh season of foreign policy initiatives from Delhi. Instead,what we have is a widespread perception that the UPA government has run out of political steam.

A series of scams that rocked the nation in the last few months,the maladroit response to the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare and the paralysis on the economic reform front have generated the impression that UPA 2 has lost the will to govern. The recent incidents of terror in Mumbai and Delhi have made the government look helpless.

The despair in Delhi is no longer focused only on the inability of the government to regain the political initiative at home. It extends to the foreign policy domain as well.

When leaders find the going tough on the domestic front,they get going on foreign policy. More often than not,it is easier to negotiate with governments of other countries than with your political opponents at home.

Prime ministers and presidents tend to have a measure of autonomy in the conduct of foreign policy and they can put it to good use. Dr Singh’s government has just found out that its political space at home is too constricted to make big moves on foreign policy.

Barely a day before he travelled to Dhaka to rewrite the relationship with a very important neighbour,the government allowed itself to be ambushed by Mamata Banerjee,the chief minister of West Bengal.

If Banerjee has stunned India with the narrowness of her vision,it is the UPA government that must shoulder much of the blame for the debacle. That this failure came after nearly two years of intense preparations for the Dhaka visit underlines the gravity of Dr Singh’s problems.

Just a year ago,the heads of state and government from all over the world were tripping over each other as they trooped in and out of Delhi,seeking economic favours and promising political support on issues dear to India’s heart.

Now,as they look at India,from outside,many in the world are becoming sceptical about the ability of the UPA government to deliver. If the current government is not seen as a credible interlocutor,outsiders can only get impatient for the next set of rulers to take charge of the Delhi Durbar.

Is the UPA 2 a bad movie that India and the world must simply wait to come to an end? Or is there a way the Congress and Dr Singh can change the script?

If there is one silver lining amidst the dark clouds over Dr Singh,it is the fact he is not the only world leader doing badly at home. Barring the Chinese communists,most of the leaders from major nations are in a funk.

Western liberal democracies are finding it hard to come out of the economic crisis that has enveloped them at the end of the last decade. From the United States to Australia,from European nations to Japan,leaders are struggling to cope with difficult challenges at home. Many of them are facing deeply polarised political debates at home.

In comparison,Dr Singh might have a lot more going for him. With a little bit of political determination,the prime minister can still turn the fortunes of his government around and with it the growing negative perceptions of India.

In politics,it is never too late to fight back and the prime minister’s trip to New York might be a good moment to start. In his engagement with the various leaders on the margins of the UN General Assembly,Dr Singh needs to put out three broad messages.

One is that the UPA is looking beyond mere survival and is ready to govern in the remaining period — nearly three years — of its tenure.

Two,Dr Singh must signal that his government will do all it can to keep India on the path of high economic growth rates. If India is seen as slowing down on the economic front,the international enthusiasm for engaging India will begin to erode quickly.

Finally,Dr Singh must reaffirm India’s commitment to contributing vigorously to the management of international security and addressing the many current economic and other challenges confronting the world.

In the last few months,there has been a growing sense around the world that UPA 2 is returning to the foreign policy posturing of the past and abandoning the new foreign policy ideas that won so much admiration during the first term of UPA.

If he does broadcast these three messages,Dr Singh may not find it too hard to reclaim some of his personal credibility and the nation’s faltering reputation. To do that,Dr Singh needs strong support from the leadership of the Congress party,which is in the danger of squandering India’s current opportunities on the world stage.

The writer is a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research,Delhi,express@expressindia.com