Unlike other members of the royal regime, Tulsi Giri talks to the press only when he has something important to say.

That is why there was much anticipation about The Doc's meet-the-press event earlier this week. There was talk he may be announcing a constructive response to the party-Maoist pact. But hardliners appeared to have prevailed and since the press had already been summoned, the Veep went ahead and delivered a tirade against the parties for boycotting the polls. He said that if the political parties had the right to demand a republic then the royalists had the right to demand a dynamic monarchy, or words to that effect.

In a way he's right. In politics, like in physics, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. But Giri isn't just another politician, he is Chief Ideologue and lays down the party line. The content and timing of his remarks are important hints of what the palace and army will do after 3 January when the Maoist ceasefire extension runs out.

The message is that the state is digging in its heels for prolonged conflict, preparing to hold municipal elections by hook or by crook and sideline the political parties by the time general elections can be held. That is the plan, and the regime is sticking to it. To understand where Tulsi Giri comes from here is another soundbite from his press meet this week: "A multiparty system is not synonymous with democracy."

One doesn't even have to read between the lines. This is the Burma model: talk tough and carry a big stick and keep on doing whatever it takes to remain in power no matter what anyone says.

In the midwestern mountains, the Maoists, too, are spoiling for a fight. The leadership can't keep the warriors dangling for too long, and the time is up. So, unless something dramatic transpires in the next two weeks, we are headed back to war.

This doomsday prospect makes us once more counsel the three political forces to come to their senses and jointly reach out for the solution that has been within grasp for the past four months. Otherwise, 2006 will be off to a bloody start.