Politics, they say, is the art of the possible. If that is true then there is still the possibility of averting a dangerous confrontation starting next week as the seven-party alliance mobilise supporters for a pro-democracy rally in the capital on 20 January and the Maoist prepare for their capital offensive.

This is essentially a struggle for political power, and at its core is the dispute over how much of it the monarchy, if at all, should have. Politics for the parties is the mechanism through which they attain power so they can serve the people. The Maoist revolution is also essentially a political movement to capture state power through the short cut of armed struggle. As long as all this is about political power it doesn't have to be intractable.

But it firstly needs the contestants not to wish for confrontation but compromise. Political players have to start looking for a meeting point rather than remain stuck in rigid positions. In short, it needs the political will for a resolution, not just for the people's sake but for their own future existence.

One year ago, the king showed he was not satisfied with the powers vested in the monarchy by the 1990 constitution. When he took over he turned himself into just another player on the political stage. The question is how much longer he is going to drag on this impasse to remain there. So, now it all depends on the ego of one man who seems to want all or nothing.

On the other hand, the political parties have to show they are not going to be unbendingly hung up on trappings and procedures, and instead proactively look for a way out. For this, they will have to demonstrate true transformation so they can reclaim their moral standing. That won't happen just by playing victim all the time. (Who could have missed the irony of the Nepal Peasants Workers Party rally on Tuesday where pro-democracy protesters carried portraits of Stalin, Mao and Lenin?)

The Maoist strategy is to ride the crest of the party protest into the capital to incite a people power uprising and take it to a point when soldiers will refuse orders to open fire on the people. That is how they all went: Shah Reza Pahlavi, Ferdinand Marcos, and Haile Selassie There is still time for a royal rollback, but not much longer.

PIC: SAGAR SHRESTHA