By D.M. Thapa It is a depressing scenario for most Nepalese, both economically and also politically. Politically, most Nepalese have given up hope on what the political parties will do. Still, they go to vote for the older and traditional parties and bring to power the same old faces who have grossly failed in bringing any relief to the general public. This is one of the most dramatic issues which has befallen Nepal, all in the name of bringing in democracy, now called ‘loktantra’ just to confuse the people. No matter what it is called, democracy is democracy and the leaders should not try to divert the attention of the people while they do nothing but come to power just to earn money. Right now, we are in such a state that the economy of the country could collapse at any time if it wasn't helped by the remittance sent by Nepalese working in harsh conditions abroad. Many Nepalese are still in foreign lands toiling with their blood, sweat and tears to provide a better life to their near and dear ones, but at the same time also contributing to keeping alive the national economy. This can hardly be said about many of our politicians and bureaucrats, who look after only the comfort and perks of their level and are not at all worried about the national economy as long as their pockets are lined and they receive all types of benefits. I remember a time when one Nepali rupee was worth more than two Thai Bhats. But this situation has turned upside down and one Thai Bhat is worth more than three Nepalese rupees. This is a drastic scenario of how our economy has come down to such a level despite the many PhD holders who have become finance ministers or leaders in the Planning Commission. A layman can say where our economy is headed towards. As said by this columnist, forget Sri Lanka, with a weak government and easy to buy the so-called ‘experts’, Nepal could easily be another Ukraine, with more tragic consequences. Add to this the uncontrolled spending by the federal government and the provisional governments, along with corrupt government officials, and you have ready a perfect recipe for economic disaster. One is not sure of the political outfalls after the soon-to-be-held general elections, but it is almost sure no one party will have the necessary total to form a government alone and this adds to more uncertainty in the political sector. We have learnt from the past that coalition governments have grossly failed in providing relief to the people. They have been enmeshed only in sticking to power and fulfilling that aim, only been active in collecting the support of the members of parliament, by ‘hook or crook’. For fulfilling such political aims, the political leaders have formed governments or failed some others, through any means and formed some extraordinary alliances, and thus like the present government, we have seen people like late Surya Bahadur Thapa, Lokendra Bahadur Chand and present PM Sher Bahadur Deuba became prime ministers when they just had nominal support in the parliament. In the present international scenario, the situation seems even more depressing. Many parts of the world are in turmoil, especially developing nations in Africa and South and Central America and also a major war in Ukraine which is almost in the heart of developed Europe which is also distressing. Two powerful sides are not only accusing each other of causing the war but the USA and Russia are also pitting their advanced weapons and also the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is taking sides with the USA and they are also giving billions worth of weapons to Ukraine to fight against what they call ‘Russian aggression'. The war in Ukraine is having a direct effect on the economies of almost all countries of the world. Again this is troubling. In weak Nepal, the direct influence of foreign powers is not good for this nation, which had always followed a non-aligned foreign policy, which helped it consolidate its relations with friendly foreign countries and proved to be beneficial in the long run as well. India has its own axe to grind here in Nepal and Nepali political leaders and many others are also always seeking to get the “blessings” of the Indian government and its leaders from various parties, and the Indians are also happy to oblige the “naïve” Nepali politicians. But now in recent times, the Americans are also directly involved in Nepal in taking sides with it, though such a move may disturb Nepal’s longstanding relationship with its powerful neighbour, China. First came the MCC (Millenium Challenge Corporation), under which the US was willing to spend billions for what it called “infrastructure development” in this impoverished country. The present leaders of the political alliance in Nepal were quite happy to quickly accept this deal and it was passed by the parliament on a fast track. Then quickly came the State Partnership Programme (SPP), which was also almost signed by the present government under prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, but due to the strong opposition by some parties and some leaders within the present alliance and with China showing displeasure, this was cancelled at the last moment. The Americans must have been fuming with anger behind closed doors, but they put up a brave face outside, after all, top-level US officials and even politicians, had put up much pressure and made efforts to take Nepal on its side through SPP. Under SPP, Nepal would have been forced to hold joint military exercises with the US and its allies and draw immense displeasure from others, like China for instance. Nepal had taken a misstep right from the time it accepted MCC and it had strayed from its ‘golden rule’ of following a non-aligned foreign policy. Politically to know what new turn Nepal will take, perhaps we will have to wait for Dasain and Tihar, the biggest festival of the majority of the people of Nepal to end and then see the results of the soon-to-come elections. We all hope it will be a turn for the better.