The king has only one choice -- accept the reality and postpone the municipal elections as it alone would create a minimum ground for a dialogue with political parties.

The level of defiance is unprecedented - it never happened before, even in 1990.

The gap between the crowd, which is quite ferocious, and the political leaders is wide. They're not quite comfortable facing the crowd and interacting with them.

You will have a fully empowered government with a sense of direction and purpose.

The king's move meets one important aspect - the end of autocratic rule. Why are the parties not accepting? I think they are a bit scared of the crowd because they are not in direct communication with the crowd.

They demonstrate their military strength to give a message that their willingness to be part of the (peace) process is not due to weakness.

It was a missed opportunity. He was a royal but he didn't expect to be king, so he was also a commoner. He could have given a new thrust to the monarchy.

That kind of traditional respect is over. A kind of momentum is building up.

They haven't come up with a vision for what if the monarchy is abolished. To the extent of opposing the king, the seven parties are together. He is the cement that holds them together. I doubt whether if the king were not there, they would be unified.

This is the only factor that raises the hope that the Maoists would extend the ceasefire.