India's Government Rejigged Again

AS WITH comedy, timing matters when delivering a political punchline. On October 28th India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, at last reshuffled his cabinet. It was long overdue, made necessary by the departure in September of a coalition ally, and more generally by the growing sense, over several months, of a government adrift: dominated by aged men, beset by scandal and short of fresh ideas. Mr Singh afterwards said he hoped it be his last rejig before general elections due, at the latest, in mid-2014.

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The most high-profile, and broadly welcome, change is the arrival of a new foreign minister, Salman Khurshid. He is only the third Muslim in the post in India’s history (though his own father, Khurshed Alam Khan, once served as a junior foreign minister, a reminder of the heavy role played by dynasty in Indian, especially Congress, politics). His elevation from his old job as law minister is mildly surprising, coming in the wake of allegations of corruption at an NGO for the disabled which is run by his wife. Evidently Congress’s leaders reckon the supposed scandal has already run its course.

He replaces an 81-year-old, S.M. Krishna, who had looked decrepit in recent years, and deferred to Mr Singh on policy. The government’s record on foreign affairs has been steady and is unlikely to change much now. Relations have improved with Pakistan in the past couple of years, and India’s role abroad is quietly expanding, for example in delivering aid to Afghanistan, bolstering relations with Myanmar and Bangladesh, and in strengthening trade relationships elsewhere in Asia. Mr Krishna is likely to be remembered best for the time he accidentally read out a speech of the Portuguese government, while attending the United Nations Security Council.

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The two most important cabinet jobs—finance and home affairs—were left untouched. But one other notable development, to foreign eyes, is the return of Shashi Tharoor, once a prominent UN official, to a junior ministerial job. He had quit, two and a half years ago, over a corruption scandal related to Indian cricket. An articulate, pro-reform and Western-oriented figure, he has a job promoting better education and skills in India, but is likely, too, to help improve the government’s public communication. In addition Manish Tewari, a bright spokesman for the party, now gets a junior minister post.

In all, 22 ministers, 17 of them new, were sworn in by India’s newish president, Pranab Mukherjee, and watched closely by a pensive Sonia Gandhi, the Congress president. She and Mr Singh displayed a mix of ambitions with their changes. For a start they hoped to present a government that looks more youthful and energetic, by bringing in a host of relatively young ministers to junior posts (though, notably, not Rahul Gandhi, who is widely discussed as a future prime ministerial candidate for Congress). Yet the average age of the full cabinet ministers has shifted hardly at all: from nearly 65 years old, pre-shuffle, to just over 64 now.

Second, they displayed concerns about regional electoral matters. Six of the promoted ministers hailed from a hugely important southern state, Andhra Pradesh, which delivered more Congress MPs in the 2009 general election than any other single state. Congress’s fortunes have since slumped there, the result of a split party and a row with a local strongman. Demands by some for a breakaway state, Telangana, also flare regularly. Promoting Andhra figures to high posts may be one way to assure voters that a Congress government brings benefits to the state. That could be crucial: if Congress flops in the state, in 2014, its national electoral prospects are likely to be grim too.

Similarly a clutch of Congress figures from West Bengal were promoted, filling a regional gap created when a Bengali coalition ally, Mamata Banerjee, flounced out of government in September (in opposition to some limited economic reforms that had been announced that month). The more prominent they prove to be, the greater the likelihood of bitter confrontation with Ms Banerjee’s party, the Trinamool Congress.

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Perhaps most important, however, was what did not occur. Mr Singh repeated that he had offered a post in government to Mr Gandhi, but again the young scion of the ruling Gandhi dynasty declined the responsibility. Various figures close to him have been promoted—notably Sachin Pilot becomes a junior minister for corporate affairs and Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia takes on responsibility for power. But Mr Gandhi himself is likely, instead, to get some new party job.

The significance of this may only emerge in the coming months. At first glance it suggests Mr Gandhi is less likely to be promoted as the party’s next prime-ministerial candidate. His repeated ducking of offers to become a minister suggests that he lacks the appetite for high office. With no experience in government, whether at national or state level, he will look ill-prepared to lay a claim to be prime minister. His timid performances in parliament do not help either.

Like his mother, therefore, he may aspire to a more detached sort of political role: guiding the Congress party, and so influencing government from outside. This, in turn, hints at a further possibility. Mr Gandhi may have concluded that Congress’s electoral prospects in 2014 are dim, after two terms in national government and a general weariness over corruption. If the government is destined to grow more unpopular, he may reason it is smarter for him to remain modest now and keep his ambitions in check. He may even reckon that winning in 2014 would anyway bring a less-than-enticing prospect: a more limited electoral mandate, probably in a less cheery economic climate and with an inevitably fractious coalition to manage. Thus holding off from office for some years yet may be the more appealing course.

Yet all that would open up other questions. If Congress is signalling that Mr Gandhi is not yet ready to emerge as its leader, or prime-ministerial candidate, then who is? Mr Singh is still healthy, energetic and capable, but the octogenarian must be allowed to retire at some point. It may prove impossible to find another such figure—capable of leading, yet not personally ambitious and so not a threat to the Gandhis’ dominance over the Congress party.

Largest Luxury Market of World

With more than thirty years development based on its reform and open policy, China has become the second economy of world and the biggest economy engine of Asia, the Chinese now become the fastest growth nation of world and its government has the largest quantity of foreign exchange reserves and so as its people’s savings. The Hurun Rich List 2012, an authoritative and famous magazine just like the Forbes in western world, has just give a report on China’s wealth people, and the rank and name has been arranged compared to the its last year report, all lot of companies and upstarts have the foremost rank this year. And the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China will be hold in Beijing at the November 8^th, and all the indexes which can illustrate the growth of wealth of its people will be regarded as brilliant achievements of the CPC party. I recently concerned the CCTV News programs; every night is has a small summery PPT presentation of achievements which gained in the past ten year since Hu Jintao, the president of China and the general secretary of the CPC party came into power.

As an observer, I notice that the China now is the largest market of luxury goods and a lot of fashion brands have took China as a target market to promote and sale their fashion products. Statistical information from China National Tourism Administration shows that in the past ten year the Chinese consumption abroad during their trips growth year by year, and most of the money from the wealth social stratum spends on luxuries. For example, during the London Olympic, the Chinese delegation of athletes buy the most fashion goods from fashions stores of Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Calvin Klein and Michael Kors. Handbags of Michael Kors, Perfume of Chanel, and Bra of Victoria's Secret are the most likely choice for those young athletes. And the sellers of these fashion brands really get the fate from the Chinese. And these just a sample that Chinese like buy luxury goods and somewhat their action of buy always are bulk ones which without much consideration and selections, they like buy those handbags, sexy bikini, and other accessories by the sight.

I am interested in the strong process of buy because these Chinese might earn their wealth not difficult than before since their nation have too many chances to become an upstart. What’s more, because their generous that the Chinese people now get the fame of magnates and almost all the merchants of world are welcome the Chinese consumers. But these also cause a problem that the Chinese people and Chinese government must face; that the Chinese people do not well value their health, especially the second generation of the wealth people, and the Chinese wealthy people do not form their rational consumption behaviors and it has a long way to go.

      

However, as the most active economy of the world, the Chinese has contributed a lot to the growth of the world economy. And during world finance crisis, the China economy is stainable than other nation, and this is undoubted that because it’s strong purchasing power from the Chinese government at all levels and its citizens. When we evaluate the Chinese, we should take a comprehensive look at it, which is an old sense of worth and visual angle towards the eastern world.