Parliament begins its budget session from Monday and King Gyanendra will address a joint sitting of both Houses soon after. There is a lot of business to catch up with: elect a third of the Upper House, approve the budget, pass critical bills including one to set up an anti-Maoist paramilitary force. The king's choice of four new Upper House MPs will be analysed for any hints of dramatic change in palace policy. Political parties are already sharpening their knives to resume their harassment of Prime Minister Girija Koirala. This time, they are expected to focus on his perceived mishandling of the post-royal massacre scenario. But the main opposition UML's position on the massacre has now diverged from three of its six member left alliance.
Koirala is also regrouping, resuming his strategy to rope in party dissidents. He may even consider quitting if the opposition parties let the budget pass. "He's not the type to go under pressure," one Koirala aide told us. "But if they leave him alone, he may be tempted to go." The centre-right RPP is also caught between the two big players: Surya Bahadur Thapa, president, wants the RPP to vote with the UML in the National Assembly. But Rabindra Nath Sharma wants the party to ally with the Congress. Thapa has already expelled two Sharma supporters. Another RPP leader Pasupati Rana-Devyani's father-has more important family matters to take care of.

The other issue that could rally the opposition: the 4 June formulation of the "Public Security Regulations" giving local administrators powers to detain, arrest and restrict the movement of potential "troublemakers". Lawyers are challenging the rules in court.