On a stocktaking of the new government's three-month doings, analysts stress moving beyond blame-centric politics and ensuring practical reforms, institutional accountability, merit-based governance and stronger policy direction for days ahead.
They came up with the observations Saturday at a meet and noted that the BNP-led government assumed office in a challenging economic and political ambiance as the administration inherited multiple structural and governance-related pressures.
The webinar, titled '3 Months of the New Government: A Preliminary Review', was hosted by Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC).
The session was moderated by PPRC chair Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman and included panellists Jyotirmoy Barua, Advocate, Bangladesh Supreme Court, Fazlul Haque, former President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Dr Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman, Lieutenant-General (Retired), Chairman of Osmani Centre for Peace and Security Studies and former Ambassador Sufiur Rahman.
Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua spoke on institutional reform, politicisation within state institutions, and the continued weaknesses in administrative and judicial culture.
He said, "The key question for these three months is whether we have moved away from the politicisation of institutions. Progress has not so far been visible. Civil administration appointments have signalled old patterns and police morale remains to recover fully. Mob violence and weak law and order continue to be serious concerns."
Fazlul Haque says the present government has had to absorb the failures of the interim, and with the Middle East crisis arriving on top of that, the need for a "bold contractionary budget with decisive measures has never been greater".
Because, he argues, with private-sector credit at its lowest, exports declining, and an investment-friendly environment still not fully established, effective budgetary planning is the only way to capture Bangladesh's $800 billion worth of garment market opportunity.
"The effects of the war are not limited to rising oil prices alone. Multiple markets and the tourism sector have also been affected, leading to significant cost-cutting at the consumer level," says the ex-BKMEA chief.
Dr Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman notes that with shifting regional landscape marked by intensifying great-power rivalry, Bangladesh's strategic environment increasingly gets shaped by forces that are no longer distant but directly embedded in its immediate neighbourhood.
He says: "Bangladesh must master the art of adversarial cooperation with meritocracy, balancing ambiguous relationships across the India-US-Bangladesh and China-Pakistan-Bangladesh axes to survive and secure its interests."
A recurring theme across the discussion was the gap between early expectations and ground-level reality.
Participants note that while the change of government generated public hope, visible progress on institutional depoliticisation, law-and-order reform, investment -climate improvement, and strategic geopolitical positioning remains uneven.
Ambassador Sufiur Rahman emphasizes that national unity is essential for strengthening Bangladesh's position in both multilateral and bilateral negotiations and cautions against the tendency to dismiss all previous initiatives solely for political reasons.
Hossain Zillur Rahman concludes that Bangladesh's civic discourse must move beyond emotion-driven politics toward careful, evidence-based analysis and constructive public engagement.
He warns against an entrenched 'tag culture', where political opponents are labelled for cynical purposes, noting that such practices continue to poison public life and obstruct honest assessments of governance and policy performance.
Reflecting on the broader national context, he states: "If our elected government succeeds, that is ultimately good for all of us as citizens. We must learn from the mistakes of the past while taking responsibility for improving the present. Building consensus within society cannot be the responsibility of the state alone."
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