A well-made cabinet
The re-elected prime minister passes his first test, without merit AT THE age of 84, M. Karunanidhi has naturally turned his thoughts to the next generation. The chief minister of India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu, he led his party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), to surprising success in the country’s recent general election. The [...]
India Votes For Continuity, Not Radical Change
Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar, India’s ruling coalition, led by the Congress Party, surged to an unexpected victory in last week’s elections. It no longer needs the Left Front (four Marxist parties) for survival, and so can go ahead with economic reforms earlier vetoed by the left. Yet its policy emphasis will be on continuity rather [...]
India’s Path to Economic Reform Reaches a Fork
By VIKAS BAJAJ MUMBAI, India — In one of the many slick campaign commercials that are airing during this country’s month-long election, an actor reels off the signature achievements of the governing Congress Party over the last 60 years: independence, land reform, a green revolution and bank nationalization. The Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition, [...]
The Ignatieff revival
WHEN Michael Ignatieff, the interim leader of Canada’s Liberal Party, bounded to the stage at a packed fund-raising meeting last month, the choice of musical backing was a 1970s rock hit called “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”. That was an unsubtle message from party organisers that great things are expected from Mr Ignatieff, a former [...]