Coalition blues

THOUGH the meeting between President Asif Zardari and Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif on Friday in Islamabad has raised hopes of a new chapter of cooperation between the two sides, it remains to be seen how long the bonhomie persists. Highlighting the fact that the PPP believed in politics of consensus, the assurance by the President to the Chief Minister that he would be given a free hand to run the province, is comforting enough. One was likewise relieved to see the President expressing his wish to preserve the PPP-PML(N) coalition in the province. On his part, Mian Shahbaz Sharif's focus was on clipping the presidential powers as this was something that some time back had mutually been agreed upon. Though some sort of settlement was hammered out during the meeting like abolishing certain clauses in the 17th Amendment, how the matter would go from here is what really matters. Would the President part with his powers? But by reminding Mr Zardari of the issue, the PML(N) has made it clear that this, along with certain other points, was the fulcrum on which the mutual relationship rested.