PRIME Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani`s overtures to the PML-N appear to have borne fruit, the Dawn newspaper said in a editorial. Excerpts: Following a conversation with the PML-N chief, Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister announced that the 10-point ‘reforms agenda' mooted by the N-League would be taken up. “We will do the doable and discuss what is not possible with a three-member coordination committee of PML-N,” the prime minister said. The wooing back of the N-League is a personal victory for PM Gilani, given that he sits at the apex of a government that has looked unsteady in recent times. Perhaps the next step in the reconciliation process with the PML-N could be nominating a candidate for the Punjab gubernatorial slot that is acceptable to both sides. That gesture would go some way toward reassuring the PML-N and Sharif that the PPP is genuinely seeking to work, where possible, with the largest party in Punjab and to maintain healthy political competition where necessary. The tragic death of the former governor of Punjab Salman Taseer notwithstanding, politically the tensions between the PPP and the PML-N in Punjab had been troublingly high in recent times. The dialogue between the PPP and the PML-N has confirmed that all the mainstream political parties in Pakistan are keen on saving the democratic system. That the overtures to the PML-N came after the government had already restored its majority in parliament after wooing back the MQM is telling. It appears the political leadership of the country, and particularly of the PPP and the PML-N, is cognizant of the possible dangers to the democratic project from extra-constitutional forces. The message being sent by the civilian political leadership of the country, to each other and to the extra-constitutional forces, is quite clear: while differences between the political parties exist, as should be the case in a democracy, the politicians want to settle their differences through the democratic process. That alone is a welcome change from previous periods of civilian rule, and it ought to be built on now. The most obvious route at the moment to improve the strength of the democratic system is economic reform. The MQM and the PML-N have both talked publicly about the need for various improvements to the economy and the prime minister has also publicly claimed that meaningful steps will be taken to address those and other concerns. Now, though, comes the hard part: doing what has been pledged. Elected and so deserving of completing its term, there is also little doubt that the PPP`s approach to governance has been woeful. The ideas exist, but is there the will to implement them? __
