While the PML-N can pat itself on the back for weathering so far the storm that threatened shipwreck, there is little doubt that the new president faces considerable challenges. Shahbaz Sharif has the reputation of being a pragmatist, which in the obtaining situation would suggest a different approach to his elder brother's defiant tone and stance. The critical question then is whether it will be Nawaz Sharif or Shahbaz Sharif who will be calling the shots. If Shahbaz's acceptance speech after being elected party president is any guide, he pulled out all the stops in praising Nawaz, going so far as to say that as a leader of the party Nawaz is irreplaceable. But this whole debate about the strategy the party will adopt under Shahbaz Sharif may be trumped by developments in the NAB cases against the Sharifs, which threaten to knock out not only Nawaz Sharif and his emerging heir-apparent Maryam, but also Shahbaz Sharif. It would seem politic therefore for the party to have a fallback position if such an eventuality overtakes it. Coming to the office of party president just four months away from the general elections, Shahbaz has his work cut out in holding the party together (something that it seems is only possible through recognizing that the party's power centre remains Nawaz Sharif), balancing his pragmatic instincts with the defiant stance of Nawaz Sharif, and leading the PML-N into the general elections to win. An unenviable raft of tasks indeed.
While the PML-N can pat itself on the back for weathering so far the storm that threatened shipwreck, there is little doubt that the new president faces considerable challenges. Shahbaz Sharif has the reputation of being a pragmatist, which in the obtaining situation would suggest a different approach to his elder brother's defiant tone and stance. The critical question then is whether it will be Nawaz Sharif or Shahbaz Sharif who will be calling the shots. If Shahbaz's acceptance speech after being elected party president is any guide, he pulled out all the stops in praising Nawaz, going so far as to say that as a leader of the party Nawaz is irreplaceable. But this whole debate about the strategy the party will adopt under Shahbaz Sharif may be trumped by developments in the NAB cases against the Sharifs, which threaten to knock out not only Nawaz Sharif and his emerging heir-apparent Maryam, but also Shahbaz Sharif. It would seem politic therefore for the party to have a fallback position if such an eventuality overtakes it. Coming to the office of party president just four months away from the general elections, Shahbaz has his work cut out in holding the party together (something that it seems is only possible through recognizing that the party's power centre remains Nawaz Sharif), balancing his pragmatic instincts with the defiant stance of Nawaz Sharif, and leading the PML-N into the general elections to win. An unenviable raft of tasks indeed.