Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal struck a conciliatory tone in his address to the nation Friday evening, acknowledging the difficulties his new government and the peace process were facing.

PM Khanal, speaking as rivals within his own party, UML, and UCPN (Maoist) continue to lock horns over the allocation of key ministries in the new government, expressed confidence that he would be able to commence work on integration and constitution writing in a few days.

Khanal called for democratic and republican forces to stay united against those who would block the institutionalisation of the revolutionary changes of the last few years. He also called upon these forces to help the Maoists themselves hold to their commitment to peaceful politics.

Specifically, he reached out to Nepali Congress, suggesting more would be achieved if they joined government rather than stayed in opposition. The prime minister also asked the media and the bureaucracy for their cooperation.

While insisting that there were no ulterior motives behind the controversial seven-point agreement he signed with Maoist Chairman Dahal (prior to being elected as prime minister), Khanal warned against those who might take advantage by making too much of supposed rivalries within and between parties. But by mentioning on two occasions the fact that he was speaking as someone elected to the Constituent Assembly, it appeared Khanal could not resist taking a dig at his predecessor and party colleage Madhav Kumar Nepal.

In closing, Khanal noted that as the son of a farmer from the east of the country, he had no private motives left to pursue. “If there is anything left for me to achieve,” he said, “it is to pay off my debt to my motherland.”