Interestingly, his latest ally Sujata will be in the government. All these indicate that the government is a mixture of ambition, without a collective sense of direction. There is also a rumour that the older Koirala keeps open the possibility of aligning with the Maoists (through his daughter) and snatches leadership from Madhav Nepal in a few months. This has led to more intense speculation: will the monarchy stage a comeback, will the Maoists resort to armed insurgency, will peace and democracy survive at all or will the country be fragmented on ethnic and caste lines, what will India’s and China’s roles be, in that event? The new government perhaps even does not know where to begin addressing these fears.

yubaraj.ghimire@expressindia.com