The announcement that Mian Nawaz Sharif will once again be taking over the presidency of the PML-N might hold the key for how long his brother Shehbaz Sharif’s government can stay in power.
The younger Sharif is in power courtesy a coalition that was cobbled together in the dead of night with not many happy about the exact composition of the government. One of the only things he had under his sleeve in terms of real power was that he was the President of the PML-N, which was bound to follow his directions in parliament.
But handing the reins back to his brother indicates Mian Shehbaz might be living on a wing and a prayer. He will continue to be prime minister as long as he is in the good graces of the many stakeholders he is beholden to.
At the same time, his brother Mian Nawaz is more of a wildcard. Already there was discernible tension between the brothers over the issue of how to handle the wheat import scam.
Mian Nawaz Sharif has publicly stated that he supports strict action against the preceding caretaker government, which is a key suspect in the wheat import scandal that has taken hold of the country’s news cycle. But it seems his younger brother the prime minister is more reluctant to involve Anwar ul Haq Kakar’s caretaker setup in any sort of federal criminal investigation, especially since the Punjab CM from the caretaker era, Mohsin Naqvi, serves as interior minister in his cabinet.
The difference in approach is causing tensions within the party. Mian Nawaz is keen to hold the previous government accountable because the wheat scam is proving to be the first major challenge for his daughter Maryam’s government in Punjab. The ire of farmers over the scandal has been directed largely towards the Punjab government because of its failure to purchase the wheat from the farmers.
With the change in party presidency, however, the PML-N will be bound to follow the directions of Mian Nawaz in parliament. This means he will for all intents and purposes be the man at the top both at the centre, but in particular in Punjab. This means both the prime minister and the chief minister will be beholden to how confrontational Mian Nawaz is feeling with coalition partners and others. There are plenty of loyalists that will be more than happy to execute any plans for him too.
