Nepal, June 24 -- The Rastriya Swatantra Party leadership had been hyping up the party's general convention, saying it would set an example for other parties. Instead, it largely followed the same flawed path of the older parties that the RSP had long criticised. The RSP's shortcomings and incompetence were exposed right from the beginning. The blue billboards and garish entrance gate, which even obstructed the passage of lorries, seemed to have been copied from the handbook of traditional parties.

Finalisation of representatives is among the first things any party needs to accomplish before holding a general convention. However, it took four days after the convention's start for the RSP to finalise its representatives. Interestingly, th...