Nobel winner's entry into Bangladeshi politics stirs debate
Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Now he's starting a political party in Bangladesh.
from the March 15, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
In his new political role, Yunus's friendship with Mrs. Clinton may also turn out to be a liability in a predominantly Muslim country where anti-American sentiment is still peaking over the Iraq war, say analysts.
"Yunus's friendship with the Clintons will definitely affect his political career as she is known to have supported the Republican invasion of Iraq, and in Bangladesh the US is seen as one force regardless of which party is in power," says Menon.
Bhattacharya says Yunus's international connections are an asset as well as a liability. "Some people do indeed believe that Yunus' international profile prevents him from acting as an autonomous agent and that he is construed to be more sensitive to concerns abroad, but in an increasingly globalized world, his friendship with someone like Hillary Clinton can also be an asset for a country like Bangladesh," he says.
Yunus's need to define platform
Even as rumors abound that aggrieved factions within the two major parties will join Citizens' Power in the coming months, analysts say Yunus's plans to contest all 300 parliamentary seats in the delayed elections is still too ambitious.
Calls for him to articulate a platform are increasing. "Yunus has yet to articulate his political platform, so the entire focus is on his personality and his past actions," says Bhattacharya.
"Unless Yunus reveals who he is politically, what he wants to do, his ideologies, and his core party members, he will not be able to earn the trust of people across the nation as a politician," echoes Rahman. "It is not enough for people in the villages of Bangladesh that he is Yunus; politics is a different game.
"Yunus certainly has a political prospect, but it is not a bright one," says Rahman. "I don't see his party winning a majority in Parliament anytime soon."
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