The subtle art of winning hearts
US President Barack Obama gladdened India’s collective heart when he endorsed this country’s bid for a permanent seat on an expanded UN Security Council, in his address to the Indian Parliament on Monday. By systematically lowering expectations before his visit, Mr Obama appeared even more generous and gracious when he conceded these very vital issues.
For all the support, the US President’s statement is a mostly symbolic gesture. Still, it did trouble Pakistan. But there is little prospect that China – which has a veto in the the Security Council – will agree to India’s entry. Is Mr Obama being a more sophisticated version of British Prime Minister David Cameron? The latter categorically blamed Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism while he was in India recently, only to ‘nuance’ his position once he was back home. Let us not forget that the US is dependent on China for its economic recovery and on Pakistan to help it win the Afghan war.
Realpolitik notwithstanding, Mr Obama won over India with one speech. Quite apart from the fact that this visit is not tied to a ‘balancing’ stopover in Islamabad – for the very first time on a US Presidential visit – he openly criticised Pakistan for not stopping terrorism. Even the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which complained on his first day in India that, at a memorial meeting in the hotel targeted during the 26/11Mumbai attack, Mr Obama did not mention Pakistan, gave him a standing ovation.
Mr Obama said: “We will continue to insist to Pakistan’s leaders that terrorist safe havens within their borders are unacceptable, and that the terrorists behind the Mumbai attacks be brought to justice.” This single pronouncement received the most applause during the speech. This was also a clear message to the US President that one of the USA’s biggest obstacles in this country is the perception that, no matter what, Pakistan is more important for it than India.
But sensational speeches are Mr Obama’s stock-in-trade. Though his popularity may have sagged back home, his powers of oratory are obviously intact. He played to his domestic agenda on Day 1 of his visit, when he sealed $12 billion in deals, worth 50,000 US jobs. But his constituency on the penultimate day of his trip was the Indian people. Last impressions last forever.
The fact is, India, Indonesia and Korea, not to mention China, are essential to the Obama administration’s goal of doubling US exports over the next five years. Asia’s empowered middle class, he believes, can drive economic growth in the US for the next several years, and come to the rescue of American consumers recovering slowly (and joblessly) from the ongoing recession.
And even though China is potentially the biggest of these markets, its currency, the Yuan, is artificially kept low to boost exports, making US products too expensive for the Chinese middle class. Mr Obama’s 10-day visit – the longest he has ever made in his presidency – is not just to fulfil his country’s export goals or create jobs. His tough-sounding pronouncements are also to send a not-so-subtle message to China that if it continues to play hardball with the US, then the latter is prepared to look at new allies and even newer geo-political equations.
Why not here?
Congratulations to the Congress for cracking down on Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and controversial Commonwealth Games chief Suresh Kalmadi. It shows that the party at the centre is still concerned about corruption spoiling its image in the eyes of the common citizen.
Too bad the Congress in Goa is not like its High Command...