India is the leader - always and everywhere!

Exactly, 43 years back, Kerala was the first to experience the uncertainty of a hung assembly after a general election. The mallus were fed up with the wheeling dealings of the political parties and had voted in disgust. Politicos of all hues got into a huddle to find a way out of the impasse and finally, if I remember correctly, about seven to eight parties got together, under the leadership of the CPM, and claimed the right to form the government. The pessimists shook their heads and opined that the idea was absolutely unworkable while the optimists said that corruption would now become a thing of the past, as each political party in power will serve as a watchdog for the other against improprieties! The apprehensions were all unfounded as mallus proved to the world as to how political parties can be collectively corrupt in such set ups making coalition politics a continuous fixture in the state, from then till date.
And somewhere from the mid ‘90s, coalition politics became a reality in the formation of the central governments in Delhi and as is seen now, it doesn’t seem to have an alternative either, however much the Congress or the BJP would love to have it otherwise!
And in 2010, the Britishers are grappling with the problem of a hung parliament and it seems, in all likelihood, that the Tories under Cameron are gonna gang up with the LibDems under Clegg to form their first coalition government! I’m sure the mallus can teach them a thing or two about, ‘Politics being the art of managing the unmanageable.’
And who is the dimwit that has said that we aren’t world leaders?

Tailpiece.
Both the optimist and the pessimist contribute to society. The former invents the aeroplane while the latter invents the parachute!