When the parliament session was suspended on August 2 to enable the MDP and the opposition to continue the talks to find a solution, the Speaker Abdulla Shahid called on all the members of the parliament to work in a spirit of compromise and cooperation, writes Dr S Chandrasekharan in the Eurasia Review.
“Cooperation and Compromise should have been the key, and both are missing in Maldives now. There is no doubt that the opposition could have been more accommodative. One commentator went to the extent of calling the opposition as a bunch of “assorted kleptocrats, dodgy businessmen and friends of ex president Gayoom.”
“While this may not apply to all the opposition members (some are really good), there is some truth in this comment. There are many ‘entrenched’ Gayoom’s men in all branches of the government who are suspected to be creating problems for the new government.
“It must have become clear now to President Nasheed that without the backing of his parliament, the civil servants and the judiciary, he will not be able to implement his ambitious agenda and his promises to the people.
“He is a young President of integrity and in a hurry. At the same time he has to sustain and get the young democracy take deep roots to ensure that authoritarianism never returns. Will he be able to go for compromises?”
