Nepal government's digital-first approach prioritizes social media over statecraft

The administration led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah increasingly relies on a digital-first approach, prioritizing viral engagement over the complexities of statecraft. This strategy uses social media as a tool for deflection, trivializing serious national affairs and obscuring critical crises. A recent incident where the prime minister jokingly requested the 'prime minister's number' to apply for an ambassadorship exemplifies the growing disconnect between the gravity of high office and the casual nature of online personas.

Such actions risk degrading the executive office, transforming governance into a theater of 'clout culture' where public attention is manufactured through performative antics. This digital spectacle appears to be part of a broader strategy. On April 27, the federal parliament was abruptly prorogued to bypass legislative oversight and introduce ordinances concerning the Constitutional Council and cooperative fraud. As public indignation grew, the narrative was quickly shifted by a photograph of the prime minister posted on May 9, diverting discourse from legislative integrity to the aesthetics of a viral portrait.

The human cost of this distraction is perhaps the most concerning aspect of the administration's communication strategy. In mid-May, while displaced landless squatter families faced harrowing conditions, the prime minister posted light-hearted content promoting local cheese. This stark juxtaposition, a postpartum mother in a holding center lacking basic nutrition alongside playful 'say cheese' captions from the head of government, highlights a perceived lack of empathy and misplaced priorities. Furthermore, the administration has shown a troubling tendency to use state machinery to enforce personal whims.

The arrest of a government secretary, Krishna Hari Pushkar, for allegedly sending a direct message to the prime minister to advance personal interests, sets a precarious precedent. Deploying law enforcement over an electronic communication, bypassing established civil service regulations, demonstrates authoritarian overreach. Governance must be dictated by law and institutional stability, not by the shifting moods or digital grievances of an individual leader.