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| Peshawar protest: Pakistani journalists hold a rally to condemn the restrictions that were placed upon the media after President
Gen. Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule. Mohammed Zubair/AP/file |
Who wants to be prime minister? Try Pakistani reality TV
'Enter the Prime Minister' – a politicized, Pakistani variation on 'American Idol,' aims to find the perfect candidate for the prime minister's office in time for the elections scheduled in January.
from the December 11, 2007 edition
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"When democracy fails to deliver," claims a full-page newspaper ad seeking contestants, "the media has a reasonable right to intervene." And because of mass media such as DAWN news, which became Pakistan's only 24-hour English news channel when it was established this year by one of the country's most powerful media barons, the chattering classes will have an even larger voice among the influential in the weeks before the election.
"This show just shows that the supply side" of candidates for the position "is very large," says Shahzeb Khan Qasim, a 26-year-old contestant who is a banker from the historically ill-represented province of Balochistan. "But on the demand side, there's only one seat. So Pakistanis can really raise the standard of who can be elected," he adds.
DAWN NEWS is mainly watched in urban centers, where English is spoken and understood by a relatively small section of the Pakistani population. The creators and hosts admit that this won't be a forum to inaugurate populist platforms, but rather, a place for a policy debate to get going. Hundreds of applications have been vetted, and some who "weren't educated enough about the issues" or didn't have "command of the language" had to be left out.
Later, at "Civil Junction," the upscale coffeehouse he owns in Islamabad, Bhatti appears more relaxed. His customers – political activists, artists and musicians, university students, journalists and wel-to-do urbanites – sit in huddles choosing from the whimsical offerings on the menu: "Military Intervention" (Some like it, some hate it, but all take it; quietly cooked in chaotic political pressure cooker) or "American Democracy" (Weaker eggs beaten beyond recognition, mixed with maverick chicken from Texas).
Despite his political overtures, Bhatti, who describes himself as a "postmodern feminist," is an outsider to the strong political establishment. Nevertheless, he has decided to run for a seat in the general elections scheduled for January. And now that he's on a reality TV show that seeks the ideal prime minister for Pakistan, he can't help but cautiously dream of leading the country into the future. "It's a free campaign really," he says sipping on a "Musharraf Guesspresso" (its base is very, very strong and the real kick is in the aftertaste). "I see it as divine intervention."
And the prize for the winner? Two return tickets to Washington, D.C. After convincing Pakistanis they are right for the job, "we think that's the next logical next step," jokes the producer, Mr. Abbas.
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