Will Maoists do better than monarchs in Nepal?

What happened
Nepal's legislature voted overwhelmingly to abolish the country's 239-year-old Hindu monarchy and establish a republic. The newly elected Constituent Assembly is led by former Maoist rebels who dominated elections last month. The assembly gave King Gyanendra 15 days to vacate his main Katmandu palace, which will be turned into a national museum. Nepal was the last remaining Hindu kingdom. (AP in International Herald Tribune)

What the commentators said
"The collapse of a royal dynasty is a rare event," said Britain's The Daily Telegraph in an editorial. And while this newspaper is pro-monarchy, it's "hard to feel much sympathy for the House of Shah," which was so inept that it lost "power through the ballot box" to Maoist guerrillas known for "terror and extortion." Maybe the rebels will do a better job.

The Maoists' war caused "untold physical and psychological damage," said the journal Nepal Monitor in an editorial. But though the Maoists' means were "undemocratic," they deserve the credit for pushing Nepal into becoming a republic. Now the real work begins, starting with economic development. "Abstract ideas of 'federalism' and 'republicanism' will mean nothing" to Nepalis if they can't eat.

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