Chowrangi

Have we ever thought about our leaders? Have we ever given thought to the very fact that what qualities should, our leaders at the top, possess? Have we ever asked them about it? Have any talk show happened in which leaders at the top are asked pertinent questions?

What type of a leader we want right now? Does a Machiavellian type of leader suits us? If yes then Benazir becomes the ideal candidate. She believes in changing her political stances and she believes in unexpected somersault according to the conditions. She has proved time and again that she cannot be trusted by anyone, and she is just mad about that Kursi.

Machiavelli was at pain, when he sensed that how people always thought that “how praiseworthy it is in a prince to keep faith and to live with integrity and not with craft.” He didn’t approve of it. He certainly didn’t. His price or (our princess for that matter) was a man of no character, a man of uncertainty and a man who understood the treacherous waters and changing times and proved more treacherous than them.

She believes in Machiavelli by her whole heart, as she keeps her faith on people until she sees any leverage and as soon as that leverage gets exhausted, she changes colors too. She believes more in the craft than integrity.

Initially when she came to Pakistan, she issued some bombastic statements in the favor of deposed judges, and she said that her Lord was Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary. Now as her deal is back on the track with Pervez Musharraf, she is saying that judges are not important, and the judges who have been deposed were also PCO-1 judges. Machiavelli says that “a wise lord cannot, or ought not … to keep faith … when the reasons that caused him to pledge it exist no longer.”

Benazir Bhutto has got enough cunning to pretend integrity. Upon the shoulders of USA and by exploiting the unaware people of Interior Sindh, she exploits her niche. She can strike deal with anyone anywhere, just to get at the top and to appease her vested interests. Machiavelli’s hero in this regard is the notoriously corrupt Pope Alexander VI, who “did nothing else but deceive men.

She surely sets a terrible example for her fellow citizens. The stakes are higher than what we believe them to be.

Other posts by Commoner

• Clear the Dust - November 20th, 2008
• Exactly What They Want - November 20th, 2008
• Punjab Heats Up - November 19th, 2008
• Eyeball to Eyeball - November 18th, 2008
• No Surprises There - November 18th, 2008
• Yousuf Ready to Leave "Power" - November 18th, 2008
• OGRA Website Hacked By Indian Hackers - November 17th, 2008
• Friends Of Pakistan Again Disappoints - November 17th, 2008
• New But Old Dimensions - November 17th, 2008
• After the Loan - November 16th, 2008