India: Congress Party Downfall

The recent results of the Uttar Pradesh state election in India may be an ominous prelude of what is to come for the Congress Party, India’s ruling party during national elections in 2014.

 Out of an anticipated 100 seats, the Congress Party was able to win forty in the national assembly, a disappointing fourth place finish. The Congress Party has been hobbled by months of stagnant policy reforms, corruption scandals, a depreciating rupee, and high inflation.

These factors coupled with the advanced age of many of the party’s senior leaders like Manmohan Singh have led many to question the future of the party.

Congress parties’ poor performance may put the political future of Rahul Ghandi in doubt. He is the son of current Congress President Sonia Ghandi and heir apparent to the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty and potential Prime Ministerial candidate in 2014.

 But without the ability to garner votes in Uttar Pradesh, which has eighty seats in parliament and 200 million people may delay his political career at a time when the Congress Party can ill afford it.

 Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2012/0306/Elections-in-India-point-to-political-upheaval-ahead.

All of this is important because the Congress Party has been credited with high rates of economic growth that have rivaled China. Few, if any parties in India have the experience of governing that the Congress Party has.

 Any upheaval in government has pointed economic implications for India. Considering the problems that any party who takes control in India will likely inherit, there could be some rough days ahead for the world’s largest democracy.

States of Union

Presidential addresses like the recently delivered State of the Union address have two audiences: domestic and global.

 Christian Science Monitor did a very interesting article on how the international press reacted to the speech. The full article is available here: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2012/0125/State-of-the-Union-speech-as-heard-by-China-India-France-Israel. Here are some highlights :
Israel saw President Obama reaffirm the United States commitment to Israel’s security by declaring that negotiation was still possible with the Ahmadinejad government, while refusing to take any option off the table.

India saw President Obama’s tough words against intellectual piracy as a reflection of their own rivalry with China. Both China and India see themselves as the voice of the worlds impoverished, are growing economically, and are seeking a foothold within Africa.

South Africa sees in the United States a similar political dynamic. Two political parties that hardly talk to each other and instead orate to their own constituencies.

The French saw the address as outlining the case for a second Obama term. He wanted to portray the country as growing stronger, with plans to create an economy built to last.This goes to show that while the American media has their own contextual reasons to view the State of the Union , the international community often has its’ own interests when looking at the State of the Union.