The political situation appears to be heating up to the point of boiling once again. The violence that was unleashed in the streets on the first day of the 60-hour hartal called by opposition parties has come as yet another rude reminder that confronta-tionalism now rules the roost. Each side is naturally inclined to blame the other for vitiating the political atmosphere but, in between the two. governance and the economy have become little more than sacrificial lambs. The people of the country, in whose name every hartal is called and every piece of anti-hartal action is enacted, stand again as the ultimate sufferers. The time to reverse the process of confrontation has. therefore, clearly arrived.

While both sides have tales of woe to tell, a line has to be drawn somewhere. And that line starts where the government s supreme responsibility to govern begins. The government bears the ultimate responsibility to ensure stability and smooth governance, because it was entrusted with such a task by the people through the ballot box. An electoral mandate means a great deal more than 'power', it means 'responsibility'. Unfortunately, the government is currently showing more power than responsibility. This is ironic, since street confrontations only make the task of governance difficult. The power of a ruling party does not increase when it displays street-side toughness. Rather, the government's power decreases when the political atmosphere is vitiated.

The opposition s role in ensuring stability cannot be over-estimated, but the ruling party needs to ensure a conducive environment for constructive political activities. While the BNP certainly needs to recognise the futility of hartals and explore other, more effective and less destructive avenues for playing the role of a constructive opposition, the AL needs to change its current confrontational-ist posture. As a first step, the AL ought to stop 'challenging' the BNP in the street, since that is a sure recipe for violence. As a second step, the government should initiate a formal process of dialogue with the BNP. Both the sides have plenty to accuse each other of, but these grievances should be sorted out through serious dialogues in parliament or even outside the House. We expect the prime minister to initiate the dialogue through a formal approach to the leader of the opposition, rather than through speeches.