In their impatience, the Maoists entered the interim legislature without completing arms management. That created problems all around. Now they are entering the interim government without changing their spots.

Former guerrillas will take time to adjust to parliamentary politics. A gun-toting commissar recently threatened fellow parliamentarians with dire consequences even as Maoist MPs on the opposition bench (including Comrade Mahara) thumped the table. Finally, it fell upon Deb Gurung to make an embarrassing apology.

Such shenanigans have convinced other political parties that putting arms into containers and guerrillas into cantonments isn't enough. Even after a formal renunciation of violence, the Maoists will still need to prove that they have given up killing and maiming those who don't agree with them. The Maoists also need to allow the internally displaced to return home and free confiscated property.

In the countryside the Maoist cadres still wage psy-war by boasting they have kept most of their guns, and that if they lose the constituent assembly election they will go back to war. Such rhetoric doesn't do the Maoists any good and will boomerang during elections.

Under pressure and after heated discussions at Baluwatar this week, Pushpa Kamal Dahal met Girija Koirala to sort out these issues. The deck has been cleared now to include Maoist nominees in an interim government. This is the penultimate step before constituent assembly elections.

The seven parties aren't happy with the absence of Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai in the interim legislature. They continue to walk free of the responsibilities of parliament. If the Maoists really want the post of deputy premier, it would make sense if either one of the Big Two jumped in. That will raise the profile of the Maoists' presence in the government, help instill discipline among nominees in parliament, and expedite the peace process.

That government will then decide on constituent assembly elections. As we see it, a June poll will only benefit those who don't want it to be free and fair and are bent upon winning it by intimidation and threats. The political parties must stop grandstanding on the polls and quit blaming others for its delay.

The interim government must announce a precise date for post-monsoon elections, work towards normalising the tarai and ensuring the laws are in place to make the electoral process more representative and fair.