ANJUM ibrahim

The yellow vest contagion

“In the first week of May 2017, Macron won the elections by a landslide defeating the far right candidate…”

“Yes I remember and he represented the non-status quo parties.”

“Right and after polling stations closed on 18 June 2017, Macron won a solid majority of seats in the national assembly (359 out of a total of 577 seats) and his political party La République en Marche! (LRM) or the Republic on the move was installed in France.”

“Indeed, and by 2018, the yellow vest movement was born which was a populist, grass root political movement for economic justice and attracted a million signatures with mass demonstrations against Macron’s economic policies beginning on 17 November and to this day every Sunday significant numbers of supporters protest in major towns and cities…”

“Is it led by opposition or status quo parties?”

“It may be supported by them but it is not led by them. And even though Macron reversed his economic policies to appease the yellow vests they continue to protest every Sunday. Oh and by the way support for the demands of the yellow vests has spread in several countries with the largest yellow vest protest outside France held in Taipei with over 10,000 demonstrating on 19 December. Their principal concern was tax justice. Wait…let me finish… hundreds of engineers staged a day long protest at Lahore wearing yellow vests.”

“Right and the demand of the yellow vests is that Macron’s fuel tax is intended to finance tax cuts for big business, with some critics claiming that government spending should be cut instead. Macron says the goal of the administration’s economic reform program is to increase France’s competitiveness in the global economy, and says that the fuel tax is intended to discourage fossil-fuel use.”

“OK.

“I reckon there are many similarities with today’s Pakistan. The Khan, a popular leader, though his party’s seats in the national assembly are not as many as Macron’s, actually they are considerably less which required him to seek coalition partners who incidentally he used to criticize bitterly, while in Punjab he won less seats than the PML-N.…”

“OK, so what?”

“Well, The Khan is talking of wealth creation and seems to have become a proponent of the trickle down theory, and don’t forget finance amendment bill 2 envisages incentives to industry, the wealthy, while for the poor he has set up shelters, which I support, but little else and…”

“And you reckon the people of Pakistan disenchanted with status quo parties may do a yellow vest on him?”

“Yes and before you disagree remember that we, as a nation, are as quickly angered as the French yellow vests if we feel that done in by the government. Recall the violent spontaneous protests when the country was facing electricity or gas shedding…”

“So?”

“So I reckon The Khan needs to look carefully at what is happening to Macron and revisit his economic team’s economic policy thrust……”

“Khan is not revisiting any of his policies…he has been assured that miraculously everything will fall into place…”

“Who by?”

“His entire team – secular as in the cabinet and spiritual.”

“I am completely silenced.”