The 'New Basis for New Unity Concept Paper' that Pushpa Kamal Dahal presented before a gathering at the Malla Hotel on Sunday this week is another vivid example of his party's muddle-headedness. It also exposes ongoing tension between hardliners and ultra-hardliners in his party.

The five-page single spaced document, unfortunately, doesn't help save seven-party unity but will invite continued disarray and more uncertainty about elections. Which is probably the intention. Dahal states categorically that the Maoist party no longer sees the election as a priority. We had known that all along, but this is the first time that he has given it in writing.

The reason elections are not a priority, let's be blunt here, is that the Maoists fear they are going to be routed. Not because the other six parties are brilliantly popular, but because the comrades have seriously undermined themselves by not giving up the tactics of violence and threats. The YCL kangaroo court that publicly pronounced five people guilty of murders and bombings and the abduction of hospital staff this week were just the latest examples.

Dahal's paper also proves that the Maoists are adding new conditions and escalating their demands so as to make elections impossible. For example, they want to review all past agreements, including the 12-point memorandum of November 2005. Why open that can of worms now unless you want to torpedo the peace process? The paper also wants the Ministry of Peace scrapped and replaced with a Peace Commission. Ram Chandra Poudel has been a disaster, but how is adding another layer of bureaucracy going to help the process along?

The upshot if that even if the winter session of parliament next week agrees on declaring Nepal a republic and on full proportional elections we will be no closer to election.

It is time for all seven parties to realise that if they don't announce an election date by next week's session of parliament they will have failed to honour the mandate of the People's Movement. The NC and the UML will also have to ask themselves whether it is their mutual mistrust and policy infighting within their parties that is aiding the Maoist agenda.

On Sunday, the Maoists began to pressure the government to agree with parliament's directives. Leaders lashed out at the "big media" for being critical of their party.

It's time for the comrades to engage in some self-analysis about why that may be so. How come their cadres involved in the Birendra Sah and Prakash Thakuri murder and abduction are still free? How come the party hasn't yet apologised? Or do they think a revolution is never having to say you are sorry?