PICS: BIKRAM RAI

Nepal's governance is like a game of snakes and ladders, as this image from Thursday afternoon at Singha Darbar shows.

The date for elections declared by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on 27 May came and went on Thursday. Normally, a government that can't hold elections as scheduled has to resign, but Bhattarai has resisted pressure from the president, opposition parties, and rivals within his own party to cling on.

In Thursday's address to the nation, Bhattarai sought to buy more time by saying he would "accelerate efforts" to work for a consensus among the political parties to form an election government. This was as per an agreement made by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and President Ram Baran Yadav to get Bhattarai to take immediate steps on a consensus government to set the date for next elections in return for passing the partial budget this week.

EMPTY SEAT: The table is set up with microphones in preparation for Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai's address to the nation at NPC office on Thursday afternoon.

Saying "I want to tell it to you like this", Bhattarai laid out a list of achievements in the peace process despite the "fierce" obstacles he faced from the opposition. He said he was willing to "make any sacrifice" in order to achieve an all-party consensus for elections by April, but fell short of directly saying he would step down.

However, most are sceptical that an agreement on a consensus government that eluded the main parties for six months will suddenly happen in two weeks.

See also:
Slapstick politics
It is no longer enough to say that the Maoists are out to grab power, when the only way to prevent that is to pave the way for elections by joining an interim-government.