We have the unenviable task of trying to wake up rulers pretending to be asleep.

It is now only a question of time before dashed hopes turn into spontaneous outbursts of frustration. There were high expectations, even euphoria, when the Maoists came to power seven months ago that their revolutionary zeal would bring a new style and efficiency to the government.

Most Nepalis expected that the constitution-drafting process would be messy and fraught with delays, but they were certain their lives would improve. Even the critics of the Maoists predicted the party would really get moving and prove to the people that it meant business. The Maoists will be different, everyone thought.

It is still too early to call the coalition a complete failure, there are some ministries that have managed to crank up the machinery of government. The Finance Ministry under chief Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai has impressed everyone with his revenue-generating skills. But all this cash is sitting unproductively in the treasury. Despite the need to show results, the rest of the government seems incapable of spending the money. Not everything can be blamed on this government, but this paralysis has mystified even the Maoists' well-wishers.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (wherever he is while we write this) needs to realise that he is heading a coalition government under a parliamentary system. Its successes, few as they may be, are his. But so are its failures. He can't blame the UML for a worsening law and order situation, or other members of the coalition for the renewed fuel crisis and continued power cuts. Ask motorcyclists waiting hours for five litres of petrol at Bhadrakali in the pouring rain who is to blame, and they all point to the party heading the government.

The buck stops at Baluwatar. The Maoists are lucky the tolerance and pain threshold of Nepalis is so high. They have wasted precious time on resolving intra-party contradictions.

The people need at least a perception that their lives will improve, and this is even more urgent than the completion of the peace process and formation of an acceptable constitution.

Nobody expects miracles from Dahal and his fellow travellers. But they need to prove that they are doing more than just blaming everyone else, or at least once a week threaten to overthrow a government they themselves lead.