Bilawal Bhutto wins hearts but has big shoes to fill
ISLAMABAD: The chances of Bilawal Bhutto, chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, becoming the next prime minister may be slim, but his campaign has won him many admirers. The centre-of-left party’s nominee has undertaken an exhaustive tour of the country, meeting thousands of supporters and trying to reignite the spirit of the PPP.
As things stand, analysts say that the party — founded by Bilawal’s grandfather and former premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto — is possibly at its worst point. But Bilawal brings hope.
At a time when others are happy to swear and abuse opponents, Bilawal kept himself above petty politics. On many occasions, his motorcade has been held up. He has been stopped from campaigning in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on security grounds. And yet he keeps on smiling and trudging along, never once losing his cool.
But Bilawal has big shoes to fill. As the son of Pakistan’s first woman prime minister Benazir Bhutto, he is aware of the high expectations the public has of him. From a time when he could barely speak in Urdu or in his mother tongue Sindhi, he is now able to address rallies and motivate crowds.
From a national party at the time of Benazir Bhutto’s death in 2007, today the PPP has been reduced to support only in its home province — Sindh. The party is not expected to do much better in the coming elections.
Some say Bilawal’s biggest liability is his father, Asif Ali Zardari, who continues to run the party from behind the scenes. The party Bilawal has inherited is fragmented and disillusioned, and its workers complain that Zardari has killed its spirit.
If there is any hope of a revival for the PPP, it comes from Bilawal. But for the party to win, there must be a level playing field, he insists.
Another worry is how the caretaker government has allowed members of banned organisations to participate. In reference to seat adjustments with certain religious elements in Karachi by the PTI and the PML-N, Bilawal has accused both parties of striking electoral alliances with “terrorists”.
For many, this electoral campaign has allowed Bilawal to emerge as a national leader. “We are hopeful that Bilawal will pull the party back into shape and win the elections in the coming years,” says analyst Ghazi Salahuddin, who insists that it is time for Pakistan’s liberal and progressive forces to align and fight against the restrictions imposed by the establishment. HTC