HE was the countrys first civilian president to complete his tenure; now, Asif Ali

Zardaris election as president will make him the first Pakistani to hold that
office twice. It is evident that his style of politics has kept currency in the
corridors of power despite the many sociopolitical changes this country has seen
since the last time he occupied the presidency. It is, undoubtedly, a remarkable
comeback orchestrated by a sharp political mind.

According to the public opinion polls conducted in the run-up to the general
election and publicised through national media, the PPP was always a distant
laggard compared to the PML-N and PTI. With the fortunes of Messrs Asif Zardari and
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari looking modest outside their traditional bastion, most
attention had remained on their bigger rivals. Yet, it was the PPP which somehow
emerged as the strongest party after the ECP announced its results of the general
election, which ensured a split mandate.

Mr Zardari had quietly gained immense leverage over the political configuration due
to the bitter acrimony between his rivals. His party offered both the bigger
parties an opportunity to form the government, while making it clear its support
would require several important constitutional posts in return. When the PTI
refused to bargain, the PML-N whether under compulsion or considering it
politically expedient eventually made the deal.

As a result, the next regime will have a PML-N-led government overseen by the PPP
from its constitutional posts. It will be interesting to see how the arrangement
will pan out. Though a national unity government had long been presented as a
solution to Pakistans poly-crisis, those calculations likely did not factor in a
large, vocal opposition buoyed by a strong narrative around its victimhood. Such an
arrangement also needed a garb of legitimacy, which the recent election was unable
to confer.

Mr Zardari is a keen player of the power game and the most successful at it by a
fair degree. He had made his way into the presidency for the first time by using a
complex strategy that involved using the then army chief to oust Gen Pervez
Musharraf from office. He had then kept that office for the full five-year term,
despite facing immense pressure from powerful quarters to abdicate. All of his
faculties will be required by the new set-up if it hopes to succeed in achieving
its goals.

Of course, there are some who believe that the PPP has merely positioned itself to
keep its traditional rival on a leash and that it will always put its own interests
above anyone elses. The two have previously worked together, but the PPP also seeks
an independent identity under Mr Bhutto-Zardari. It will, therefore, be interesting
to see what arrangement the two parties eventually reach.