Many believe that confrontation is no solution to the political and constitutional crisis between the palace and the political parties. Therefore, they have urged these two forces to patch up. Similarly, more people, including most of the international community, seem to favour a political solution rather than a military one to the Maoist problem. But the main hurdles to the pursuit of these goals are evidently the narrow vested interests of the political forces who are yet to subdue their bloated egos, give up their dogmas, and control their desire to increase their power at others’ expense. They talk of the need to make a sacrifice for the nation, but sparing themselves the trouble. This attitude lies at the root of the failure to find a political settlement.

It is no wonder, therefore, that there has been a lack of any serious effort towards a political solution, except on one’s own terms. But this is by no means a realistic position. On its part, the seven-party alliance, which started its pro-democracy agitation on Sunday, seems to have pinned little hope on reconciliation with the palace. CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, in an informal meeting with the new office-bearers of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists on Sunday, said that the political parties will not now be ‘embroiled’ in a dialogue, as ‘an example of reconciliation has been provided by putting us under house arrest and in jails for three months.’ Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala has likewise said that nobody has the authority to talk of national reconciliation by ‘putting an end to the 1990 Constitution.’

This mood, made all the worse by the government’s highhandedness, does not augur well for reconciliation. Nevertheless, if the nation has to be saved from disaster, they should find a common ground. Of course, those who are in power should take the initiative. Sitting together, they should draw up a road map for the country’s future, focusing on maintaining law and order, holding fresh parliamentary elections, and agreeing on a collaborative strategy for dealing with the Maoists. If they cannot do so, Nepal may not regain and then retain the crucial international goodwill. Ultimately, they, too, will end up becoming big losers.