Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli secured a resounding majority in the House of Representatives on Sunday. Getting 188 votes in the 275-strong chamber, Oli showed the backing of over two-thirds members of the lower house. This in itself is a positive start to a new stint as prime minister for Oli. A powerful government is in the interest of the country that has been reeling under economic crisis, unemployment and other problems. However, securing an overwhelming House majority at the start of the term is nothing new for a Nepali prime minister. CPN (Maoist Centre) chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who secured over 97 percent votes in the House in January 2023, had to go for the floor test three more times before he was ousted earlier this month. In the fourth vote, he was supported by only 22 percent of the members of the same House.

When KP Sharma Oli became prime minister for the second time in February 2018, he returned to Singhadurbar with a strong mandate as the erstwhile left alliance of the CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre) won a resounding majority in the 2017 general elections. In May the same year, they converted the left alliance into a single unified party making Oli a strong prime minister, commanding an overwhelming majority in the federal parliament. But this unified force fell apart and the two mother parties were revived in March 2021. When the Supreme Court in July 2021 ousted Oli, the UML chair lost not only the trust of other parties but also the support of many lawmakers from his own party. These are just a few instances. If history is any guide, securing a big parliamentary majority at the start means little if cannot be protected for any length of time. The goal should rather be to use this strength for the benefit of the country’s larger good.

The country needs a strong government and political stability—more specifically, policy consistency. The government in place in turn urgently needs to address pressing issues—prolonged economic stagnation, slow development activities, unemployment, brain drain, corruption. But the mother of all problems is the protracted economic crisis. So the top priority should be to fix the economy. This done, many other things will fall into place.

Prime Minister Oli is praised not only by his party comrades but also the rivals for his bold decision making capacity. But he is also often accused of bulldozing others’ views. This is also why in 2021 he irked many leaders within his party as well as chiefs of other political forces and lost their support. Oli’s statements after becoming prime minister last week suggest a change. The remarks he has made in the House on domestic as well as foreign relations are more balanced this time.

The prime minister must not forget that the support of the Nepali Congress, the largest party in the House of Representatives, has made it possible for him to return to power with a strong parliamentary support. His relations, mainly with Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, is going to be crucial. Just as was the case during his previous tenures, Oli’s success this time will depend on whether he can accommodate other viewpoints, both from in and out of the ruling coalition. This, unfortunately, has not always been his strong suit.