Polyparty-ism - Search for Common Ground

the thought of having a second or
third party. The poor President grew
older and older, but he clung to
power as firmly as he could. He was
determined to stay in power at any
cost and this thought penetrated to
the last atom of his body. He began to
grow senile, and his advisers shamelessly
manipulated the old dictator
and led him to absurd situations.
Western diplomats, primarily the
French and American ambassadors,
advised the ailing President, who was
beginning to loose his clarity, that it
was time to reach out for "the least
bad institution of governing which is
already used by the majority of
humanity-democracy." The ambassadors
advised the Father of the
Nation that the first step he should
take would be to abandon the oneparty
system. He first reacted as if
they asked him to align with demons.
His country was a Mediterranean
one, close to Europe. It could even be
a Balkan one. With minor differences.
It could have become the first
"associated" and "stabilized" country
in the southern Mediterranean, if
only the President had opted for a
multi-party system. But the old fox
had enough wit to employ his selfpreservation
instincts and to "save"
his people from democracy. In confidence,
he would bring the ambassador
of the world's leading power up
to speed.
"I spent all of my life studying
Western democracy, but you should
trust me when I tell you that my people
are not ready for it. They are not
ready to assume the burden of power.
My people are like the dust, if you
blow strongly enough it will spread.
You can blow any way you like, my
people will follow," said the
President.
The Western diplomats were
patient. They waited for autumn
when the pear is ripe and falls from
the tree. Large demonstrations
occurred. Men were hungry. The
large country sent ships with wheat.
The President calmed the crowds by
sacrificing a couple of ministers. But
in the end he was forced to allow
more parties into the Parliament. He
called his faithful friend, the
President of the Parliament, to his
palace. The two men were the same
age, past their eighth decade. The
President of the Parliament was a
respected former writer. They agreed
to assemble the historic session of
Parliament. The Father of the Nation
took a large, comfortable armchair
right next to the President of the
Parliament. He was always there
when the Parliament convened, just
in case anything went wrong. The
President held a large artificial bouquet
of jasmine flowers.
So the historic day arrived. For
the first time TV cameras were present.
A big occasion. The members of
the government were also there. So
were the diplomats. And the leaders
of the newly founded parties started
to present their programs. It was a
pleasure to listen to them. All their
programs led straight to Paradise.
The old President, the comforted
Father of the Nation, was so happy
he fell asleep. It happened before, as
if he could control his subjects
through his dreams. But the Devil
was hard at work. He took up the
microphone and spoke up. He yelled!
Banged his fists on the desk. "Well,
this has never happened before," said
the confused Parliamentarians.
The Father of the Nation woke up
from his quiet Mediterranean dream.
He even dropped the bouquet. Some
interpreted it as a bad omen. After the
speaker calmed down, the Father of
the Nation turned to the President of
the Parliament
"Who is this impostor?" he
asked.
"He's from the new democratic
party. He is elaborating his party's
program."
"Who asked you for his program?
Tell me which tribe he is from and I
will understand what he is trying to
say."
That was the end of the
Parliament. The small Mediterranean
state had learned its first lesson in
democracy. The Dictator, while he
still had some reason, managed easily.
All the new parties were full of the
old, unified socialist party spirit.
Therefore people were under the
impression that there was only one
party in the land. There were numerous
parties, but their essence
remained the same, monolithic.
Everybody took care of his own
tribe.
Soon the President's illness progressed
on to the people. The whole
country was feeling deep pain. The
parties waged wars among themselves.
Who was not with them or
their programs, were considered to
be against them. They even had well
elaborated strategies to proclaim
someone a traitor. The people continued
to suffer. Unimaginable corruption
raged. The ministers changed
after a day or two in office. One was
named minister in the morning and
dismissed in the evening! The Father
of the Nation didn't have the cure. He
was overwhelmed by his illness and
time past and present were all mixed
up in his head.
The coup came, carried out by
one of the President's sons. In fact it
was a "medical coup" since the poor
President was proclaimed unfit to
rule under an article of the
Constitution. The decision was
signed by his personal doctors.
The young new President tried to
rule the land according to his Fathers'
recipe. The old President spent his
days in a villa, surrounded by attention
and medical care. He was nearing
his 100th year. The young
President used to visit him before
every national holiday. The parties
vegetated, but the strongest one was
the new President's party, inherited
from the Father of the Nation. Just
before he died, the young President
visited the old one and tried to bring
fresh hope in his unable body.
"When I see you looking so
strong and wise I tell myself that you
can still be of use to this nation," said
the young President. The old
President shook his head and replied,
"Well, if you really think so, my
son, why don't you come here and let
me rule a little while longer..."
(The author is a writer)
35
What now, June 2001