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How the world saw Indian
Elections
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It is important for the Sikh community
to keep a watch on how the world media assessed the Indian
elections. The publication of these distilled experts is no
indication of any endorsement by the WSN of any remarks but
merely an effort to help our readers keep abreast of the
perceptions that the world may form from these elections through
the media. |
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 Thumping
mandate
Most reports in
the international press stressed that the Congress’s emphatic
victory was a vote for stability and political continuity. “After 20
years of the once-dominant Congress Party being challenged by the
ascendance of small identity-based parties, these elections
suggested something of a course correction,” said The New York
Times.
Man of the
moment
The New Republic
calls the results heartening, because Manmohan Singh “has proved a
relatively competent and sensible leader”. “What’s more, the party
he leads has long been under the control of the Nehru
dynasty...while it appears that Rahul will one day take over, it is
good (for both party and country) that the technocratic figure of
Singh is showing some signs of political life.”
A report in
Singapore’s The Strait Times says, “The 76-year-old PM may lack the
charisma of his predecessor, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but Indian
voters clearly trust him and have high regard for him... there is no
question that Dr Singh is widely popular in India and has become a
key influence pole within Congress in his own right
Rah-rah for
Rahul
“The stage is
set for Rahul Gandhi to become
India’s
prime minister within the next few years”, claimed The London Times.
“The dynamic, youthful image of Rahul, the son and grandson of
former prime ministers Rajiv and Indira, was marketed by Congress to
appeal to India’s 43m first-time voters. It was pitched to
complement the reputation of Singh, the 76-year-old British-educated
economist who is known as a safe pair of hands,” it announced.
Talking of his
future plans, The New York Times said “renouncing personal power is
a powerful political gesture in India, and the Nehru-Gandhi family
has used it deftly. Five years ago, when Congress won a surprise
victory, Sonia Gandhi renounced the prime minister’s post,
bequeathing it to the professorial Mr. Singh. On Saturday, Mrs.
Gandhi insisted that the top job should remain with Mr. Singh,
rather than go to her son.With a knowing smile, Mr. Singh told
reporters that he would continue to try to persuade Mr. Gandhi to
join his cabinet.”
No Left, no
Right
“Indian voters
choose middle path,” says
Pakistan’s
Dawn —”Saturday’s verdict has clipped the left and the right wings
of India’s political spectrum. It marks a welcome irony for a
country that is surrounded by so much turbulence caused mainly by
left and rightwing insurgencies. Dr Singh’s second term is both a
challenge and an opportunity for him, for India and for the region”.
A piece in The News says that “while Narendra Modi and Varun
Gandhi’s brand of politics may have paid dividends locally, but it
failed to do so at the national level, rather it backfired.”
What’s in it
for US
The Wall Street
Journal noted that Singh’s re-election “is likely to be welcomed by
the new administration in the White House. He has been a big driver
of improved relations between the US and India after decades of
mutual suspicion. The New York Times also said that the “Congress
Party’s showing vindicates the prime minister’s efforts to deepen a
strategic partnership with the United States at a time when the
Obama administration is deeply concerned about security in the
region”.
Full-throttle
on the economy
A weaker Left
could mean more economic revamping for India, said The Wall Street
Journal. “(Manmohan Singh’s) victory is a global one. Across the
world, 30 million members of the Indian diaspora have largely come
to see Mr. Singh as their symbol of a new
India”,
said the Journal. “Singh will return to his offices at a time when
India’s economy, along with the rest of the world, is struggling to
regain momentum. India’s economy could grow as much as 6% this
financial year, down sharply from the searing-hot 9 and 10%
quarterly growth figures that has made this country of a 1.1 billion
people a destination for foreign investment and its 300
million-strong middle class a coveted goal for the world’s
manufacturers”, wrote Businessweek.
20 May 2009
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