Ceremonial time

摘要

The country's largely ceremonial president, Ram Baran Yadav, denies it. Yet diplomats and political insiders in Kath-mandu accept that earlier this month Mr Yadav sounded out the army chief as well as the Indian ambassador about toppling the government of Nepal on November 22nd. The response he received obliged him to shelve his plans. Even the president's advisers admit that he is keen to dispose of the Maoist-led government of the prime minister, Babu-ram Bhattarai. The trouble, they say, is that under Nepal's interim constitution he has no power to do so. Ever in thrall to conspiracy theories, the capital is more than usually abuzz with speculation about how the president will act.