Balen at six months: The test of institutional power
Summary
Balendra Shah’s first six months in office have been marked by growing centralization of power, strained cabinet functioning and concerns over institutional bypassing. His handling of the Bhotekoshi–Koshi flood, bank directives and early diplomacy have highlighted both his decisiveness and the limits of unilateral rule.
Key Points
- Shah’s government has increasingly concentrated power in the Prime Minister’s Office, sidelining cabinet deliberation and weakening institutional checks.
- The Bhotekoshi–Koshi flood exposed coordination failures across federal, provincial and local bodies despite rapid intervention from the PMO.
- Moves against banks and frozen funds triggered legal and economic concerns, tightening credit and hurting investor confidence.
- His early foreign-policy posture, including refusing to meet India’s visiting Foreign Secretary and skipping visits to India and China, broke with longstanding precedent.
