In the latest survey conducted by Transparency International Pakistan is no longer at the top of the list as the most corrupt nation. It moved down quite a few notches and is heading in the direction of those considered least corrupt.

The common man did not miss the elected representatives in the nation’s capital. On the contrary, many, perhaps the majority were happy that they did not have to put up with conniving politicians making empty promises while filling their pockets. The public did applaud the efforts of one person, Pervez Musharraf, who struggled to turn things around so life could be better for all.

While on the verge of collapse the nation’s economy has also been turned around. About the week ago the New York bond-rating firm, Moody and Company, upgraded Pakistan’s credit-worthiness from B- to a B. This represents a significant improvement in the financial picture of the country.

Even more important, the foreign exchange reserve of the nation has substantially improved for the first time in a decade. The total sum in the reserves is now around $6.8 billion, huge in comparison to what existed only three years ago.

In marked contrast to the achievements of the past three years the newly elected politicians presented a spectacle once the elections were over. True to form they started bickering and jockeying for positions once the results were clear. The endless maneuverings and dealing making consumed the better part of a month before a government could be put in place.

One had hoped that with the new eligibility requirements a better breed of politicians would emerge. But no such luck. It was business as usual.

When the National Assembly was finally convened it was the usual cast of medieval characters who paraded around impressing one another with their own sense of self-importance. Not a single one said anything of substance either inside or outside of the parliament. The parliamentary horse-trading produced a Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, a run of the mill feudal, whose abnormally protruding potbelly said it all.

The overfed Prime Minister was a marked contrast to the physique of the common man in a country where per capita food consumption is less than 1700 calories per day. The very looks of the top political leader probably conveyed a grim message to the malnourished millions: the crooks are back.

In an image conscious world one can well imagine how the rotund Prime Minister is perceived in the democratic countries. In politics “image” is everything. A fat-cat does not convey a positive impression, specially in the West whose goodwill Pakistan needs for survival.

Thankfully, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, who was already seen as one of the “crazies” around the world, was not made the Prime Minister. His picture was enough to rattle many cages across the international community. Had he become the Prime Minister the talk radio would have gone wild in the States.