Modi and the art of next best

His first term in the Lok Sabha was spent in comfort. But the second could be a test for his charisma-driven politics

To Otto von Bismarck, the 19th century Prussian statesman, is attributed the lovely phrase: “Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable: the art of the next best.”

The first line of the statement is familiar to most of us. But in the absence of the second part, the bits about attainability and the acceptance of the next best—the line “politics is the art of the possible”— remains vague and inconclusive. What Bismarck means of course is that politics is the arena of making the best of what is available after compromise: There will always be multiple, and often, conflicting