It is quite possible that you would have noticed how some prominent dynasts of Asia met electoral defeats. But, according to reports, their political end are still very unlikely. Take for example the recent setback for the Nehru-Gandhi dynastic Indian Congress Party which was defeated by the BJP (BharatiyaJanta Party) which came to power and Congress Party was left with only 44 seats.
The Nehru-Gandhis have ruled India for more than half a century either as Prime Minister (Nehru, Indira, Rajiv Gandhi) or as the power behind the throne (Sonia Gandhi). But due to ineffective campaign led by Sonia’s son, Rahul Gandhi who has little interest and skill in politics resulted in their end of political scene.
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In Sri Lanka, the defeat of Mahindra Rajapaksa came as a shock in January 2015. The reason behind his defeat was not just his dictatorial tendencies but also the favoritism that he showed to his family that included appointing one of his brother as defense secretary and other as senior advisor to president. He appointed the third as the speaker of parliament. It was totally a family show.
In the protests of Thailand, in May 2014 we saw that the takeover ended the reign of YingluckShinawatra who was a puppet to her brother, ThaksinShinawatra.
Similar political changes have been seen in Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia.
But, if we take a closer look, dynastic rule is still very much active in Asian politics. In India, Congress has risen from the defeats in the past and can come again under Rahul Gandhi’s sister Priyanka, who resembles her grandmother Indira both physically and political acumen. BJP itself has a ‘dynastic strategy’ with many of its candidates being scions of major families.
In Sri Lanka, the new Prime Minister is the nephew of former president and is a leader of United National Party which is often mocked as ‘Uncle & Nephews Party’.
In Japan, seven of eleven prime ministers have come from political dynasties in the last 20 years which includes the present Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. Similarly in Singapore and South Korea, dynasty rule still prevails.
The list goes on and on. Those who have descended from charismatic leaders are major players of politics in Asia. At many a times, they are the key to survival of leading political party.
Sophie Chi