The inevitable has
happened.
Budget wrangles
between the
Repubtican-led
Congress and a
steadfast Bill
Clinton saw all
important US
government offices
shut down for a
week, one of the
longest shutdowns
ever in US political history. Some
80,000 workers
who reported Ior
work on the
morning of November
14 had to
return home and
stayed put as acrimordus exchanges
amidst intense
negotiations to
reach a solution
marked the tumultous
political
scenario.
It all began with
Clinton veto-
ing a temporary
finance bill to raise
the debt limit,
passed earlier by the
Congress. He
described as "irresponsible", the
conditions laid
down by the
Republicans to keep
the government open
which
included increase in
medicare
premiums, reduction
in education spending and
underminIng environment. The
Republicans,
meanwhile, refused
to concede
seeking a seven-year
programme to
balance the budget
instead of the
10 years that
Clinton wanted.
Remarked Newt
Gingrich, House
Speaker, derisively
of Clinton,
"Idly sitting down
at the White
House issuing veto
threats is not
a very useful step
towards
governing.
The crisis was
resolved after
Clinton agreed to
the Republican
plan of a balanced
budget but
sought protection
for some domestic programmes
against deep
spending cum The US
government
has been shut down
on nine
previous occasions
since 1981 with
both the Congress
and the
President bent on
pushing their
own agenda.
The tough stand that
Clinton
took is seen more as
an effort to
retain his
reputation as a
survivor
against all odds.
Obviously, more
at stake is the
presidential
elections
next year. Opinion
polls conducted
during the standoff
favour
Clinton's stand and
show that the
Republican image has
taken a
beating.
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