Pranab will restore balance

His appointment as foreign minister may help once again restore the balance in policy making, writes Pankaj Vohra.

Pranab Mukherjee‘s appointment as Foreign Minister — a job he held for 15 months in the mid-nineties — could help once again restore the balance in policy making between the Prime Minister's Office and the Foreign Ministry. For nearly a year now, after K Natwar Singh quit as foreign minister on November 7, 2005, the Prime Minister had held the foreign ministry portfolio. In practical terms, this meant that the PMO enjoyed superiority in its relationship with the foreign ministry.

HT Image

All that could change as Mukherjee, with his experience of handling nearly a dozen ministries since the early seventies, is likely to be a hands-on minister conscious of his role in the changing global scenario.

Former Prime Minister IK Gujral acknowledged as much while complimenting Dr Manmohan Singh on his choice of Mukherjee, who, he said, brings “intellect and experience to the job. He is amongst the longest serving ministers so naturally he will be an asset. A whole-time foreign minister was needed though Dr Singh himself did a commendable job''.

Mukherjee also carries the burden of history. There are very few leaders, even internationally, who have been active for over 36 years. And like Andrei Gromyko, the foreign minister of the erstwhile Soviet Union, Mukherjee has been at the centre of policy making all through.

Foreign ministry officials are happy the appointment will address protocol limitations. A secretary-level serving IFS officer said, “Good days are back with a seasoned politician like Mukherjee heading the ministry and an experienced foreign secretary like Shivshankar Menon. He knows the demands of the job, has a sharp mind with extraordinary absorptive capacity. However, what we need to see is the ideas he brings to the table.”

Mukherjee is also expected to help strike a balance between the two ministers of state in his ministry, while his standing would be a sobering influence on officials of the foreign office and the PMO.

Former Foreign Secretary Salman Haider said, “The Foreign Office has always benefited under a strong leader. His grasp of the government’s functioning and our external relations is bound to strengthen the foreign policy apparatus''.

Strategic affairs analyst Brahma Chellaney felt Mukherjee “understands security and strategic issues. He is the only minister who speaks sense. The period when the Prime Minister looked after the portfolio was marked by several controversies. Like the PM making the US-India nuclear deal centrepiece of foreign policy and his statement on Pakistan being a victim of terror in Havana. With Mukherjee, the Ministry of External Affairs must assert its right to make foreign policy and not be dictated by the PMO.”

It appears that Mukherjee, who likes reading books on international relations and history during his spare time, has also admirers across the UPA boundaries.

Even Brajesh Mishra, National Security Adviser during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime, welcomed the appointment, calling it a “very good choice”. He said: “It is good to have a foreign minister since the PM cannot be everywhere.”

But Mukherjee may find his own precedent hard to follow. Unlike PV Narasimha Rao and Vajpayee, Mukherjee has never skipped major discussions as leader of the Lok Sabha. How he ensures that even now in his new job which demands extensive travel is to be seen.

Email Author: pvohra@hindustantimes.com