Roti, Kapra and Superman

Not many political leaders can wear a Superman T-shirt in full glare of the cameras and escape unscathed. So, when Bilawal Bhutto Zardari did just that, he exposed to us a new adventurous side of his personality. Compared with the dull, drab, grey personas of PPP feudals, Bilawal’s sartorial risk has had the desired impact.

Yes, it will indeed take a Man of Steel to salvage the PPP. Savaged by its own men of clay, the party flogged, whipped and lashed its own back to a bloody pulp. Lorded over by extraordinarily ordinary men, the party that once stood for lofty ideals, like people’s power and social justice, now saw itself reduced to a coterie of incompetent and corrupt minions out to fleece this nation. The stinging backhanded slap it received from the voters was then so richly deserved — and richly earned.

For the party, the party seemed over. But just when Lex Luthor is on the verge of succeeding in his evil designs, Clark Kent decides to transform into Superman …

And so, in flew Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to battle the Lex Luthors of the PPP and save his political damsel in distress. Pow! Take that you corrupt villains.

But these villains have Kryptonite. Lots of it. Some wear it around their necks but many have it stashed away in their lockers and votebanks. They sport power, patronage and evil grins. They also cackle hideously:

“O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!/ My tables — meet it is I set it down/ That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.” - (Shakespeare, “Hamlet”.)

If the party then is to be saved, mortal combat is inevitable. In this Battle Royale, the young Bilawal will have to slay many monsters, trolls and fire-breathing dragons before he can truly don the legacy that has catapulted him to such dangerous heights at such a young age. Voldemorts lurk in party shadows, salivating at the rotting carcass of the PPP, while Harry Potter plays political Quidditch.

And what is young Bilawal armed with? It may be too early to say yet, but early indications are encouraging. Once known as a shy boy, he is slowly coming into his own as the true flag-bearer of his powerful legacy. From fiery speeches to slick stage presentations to a smart, wisecracking and highly opinionated Twitter-warrior, he is packing a lot into his persona. He’s 25 and he is not hiding it. That’s refreshing. That’s honest. That’s so not the PPP.

Yes, the party that loves to live in the past is perhaps, glimpsing the future. This is a future that revolves around a swiftly changing world — a world where fat, corrupt feudals with big cars and bigger egos, with ugly rings and uglier attitudes, will find themselves being edged towards political dustbins. This junking of the Junkers may not happen overnight, but the tide is irreversible.

The monopolisation of Pakistan’s political spectrum by the PML-N and the PPP since the 1990s had to have a backlash. This backlash finally found a name: Imran Khan. On the cool breezy Lahore evening of October 30, 2011, Khan gatecrashed this exclusive club with banners flying high, and hopes and expectations even higher. That was then.

In two years, Khan is nowhere where he was expected to be. Bludgeoned into political oblivion in Punjab by the Sharif juggernaut, he barely salvaged his dignity by limping into power in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. And then, like his famed bowling deliveries, he swung right. In fact, so right that it has to be called a wide. As we all know, too much Right can end up being wrong.

The political spectrum now has a yawning gap. There’s a job opening in the leadership council: wanted — a leader who is young, progressive, educated, urbane, has a global outlook and clued into international values of human rights, compassion, women’s empowerment etc. He must show exemplary foresight and an appreciation for enlightened policies.

Does Bilawal qualify? His party as it stands today, certainly does not. Perhaps, even he himself does not know. But wearing the Superman T-shirt may provide a hint that he is willing to give it a shot. Kryptonite be damned.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2013.

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