The economy’s call for middle class as kingmakers

The present “democracy” of popular vote brings in a majority of members to the Parliament who are just street fighters capable of conducting an election campaign and are at best only aware of micro problems of a section of the masses. We hardly see anyone who has a broader understanding of the economy, a long term vision for the country and a practical implementation methodology making it to the Parliament. The election manifestos are long impractical, wish-lists with no proper plan outlined on implementation

The current political situation has brought to centre-stage what we already knew – the calibre of our lawmakers in the Parliament. 

The crossovers and reverse crossovers for personal benefit is the hallmark of all political parties barring none. The laws are made for their own survival and weaken the opponent rather than the long-term benefit of the country. The self-proclaimed “guardians of democracy” are actually just “guardians of self-interest”.

The need for the governing system to change

This explains the poor economic track record of the country over the last 70 years since independence. Clearly the Governing/Administration structure needs to change. 

The present “democracy” of popular vote brings in a majority of members to the Parliament who are just street fighters capable of conducting an election campaign (sometimes by even “buying” votes) and are at best only aware of micro problems of a section of the masses. We hardly see anyone who has a broader understanding of the economy, a long term vision for the country and a practical implementation methodology making it to the Parliament. The election manifestos are long impractical, wish-lists with no proper plan outlined on implementation. 

The result of this is that once in power, the politicians need to rely on officials to guide them with economic policy. More often than not, the politicians may rely on a loyal set of officials to navigate the economy, irrespective of whether they have the best long term plan for the country. 

Some blindly rely on foreign expertise, while some rely on a handful of domestic experts mostly based on loyalty. Clearly such a set up would be plagued with erroneous economic decision making. Even more importantly, the politicians have the ultimate power to dismiss the views of the officials for political benefit.

New party – EPAS – entrepreneurs, professionals, academics and students

The status quo demands a wider discussion as to how this system (which should be changed), should be changed. The need is for the entrepreneurs, professionals, academics and students to have a greater say and a hand in the economic direction of the country. 

Clearly the politicians who wield power and enjoy privileges are not going to let the system change. And the middle class is not the type of people who would do street protests to make demands to the Government. Hence the system will have to be changed eventually from within; i.e., the middle class may have to enter the Parliament as an independent political party. 

There is a vacuum currently as the urban middle class feels they are not sufficiently represented in the administration. The disgruntled middle class along with the younger voters should easily exceed a million. Therefore such a party could obtain 15-20 seats comfortably in the 113 majority Parliament. 

First step – become kingmakers

The game plan should be to become the kingmakers. The role the minority parties have played over time. They invariably become part of any Government to win the rights of those communities. The strategy of EPAS should also be the same. EPAS should formulate and stand for the implementation of a strong, practical, long-term economic development program for the country.

In fact, such a political party would be welcomed by the few respect-worthy politicians in the major political parties – those who genuinely care about the country and who genuinely wish to develop the country. On one hand EPAS would be a great source of guidance and also a tool to control the less desirable individuals in the major parties (all political parties have headache individuals whom the party leadership can’t ignore due to their voter bases).

Unite under common theme – not individuals

Setting up such a political party is not going to be easy. On one hand this group is not interested in politics, while on the other, there’s going to be an invariable conflict of personalities as each and every one is “someone” in their own right. Hence it may not be practical to have personalities as the leadership of the party. EPAS should have a vision and a clear implementation plan which should be the guiding light of the party. A five-year plan before each Parliamentary election, to be exact. 

The key success factor would be to formulate a great team. The vision and plan should be clear, and the few factors that should be tackled and addressed should be clearly highlighted, instead of a long wish-list. At any point in time, a country needs to prioritise which issues need to be addressed and trying to solve many problems with limited time and resources is sure to result in achieving nothing at the end – as we have experienced so well in the past. 

A simple election strategy

EPAS should neither support nor criticise any of the major parties prior to elections. In today’s age of social media, one need not do rallies, meetings or posters to attract the urban voter. A paperless e-campaign backed by social media could easily take a strong message across to the target market, especially if the team comprises of proven individuals with the right mix. 

Post-election, the party should join the Government (whichever political party that has the majority) provided a firm assurance is given to support the plan of EPAS (even partially). The party should not take any ministerial portfolios except for a strong say in economic policy – where the long-term economic plans are drawn. The major party in the Government may also prefer to deal with a party that doesn’t bargain on privileges but rather provides useful guidance. 

The road is long and no miracles should be expected in a hurry. However it’s the first step that matters most. With the current level of frustration among the majority of the urban population, there could very well be a pleasant surprise.



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