Winds of opinion

The departure of Pranab Mukherjee from the finance ministry has produced its share of stories, comments, and speculation. Of course, most of them have extolled his long career. However, more than a few have been far less favourable — critical reviews of his achievements as finance minister over the past few years, for example, as well as much discussion of the apparent tension between him and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. But even more puzzlingly, there is also considerable expectation that now the coalition’s policy paralysis could end — which sits oddly with the earlier conventional wisdom that Mr Mukherjee was the United Progressive Alliance’s troubleshooter. This change in attitude towards the once-feted finance minister as he prepares to leave his post has not gone unnoticed. Even Vijay Mallya, on Twitter, remarked: “Winds of opinion blow strangely in tough situations. Pranabda was saviour and solution generator. Now as Prez candidate he is criticised as FM.”