The news in May that the Congress party had won India's elections by a big margin electrified the political establishment and sent shares soaring. Manmohan Singh, back as prime minister, still needs coalition partners, but no longer relies on Communists for his majority, and needs not pay so much heed to small, venal regional parties. At home, he pledges to forge ahead with liberal reforms. Abroad, too, says Shyam Saran, a special envoy for Mr Singh on climate change, his government "will enjoy greater room for manoeuvre than in its earlier incarnation".rnIf this freedom produces a robust, coherent foreign policy, it will be a post-cold-war first. "Does the elephant dance?" is the title of a forthcoming book on India's foreign policy, by a former Canadian envoy, David Malone. Until now the country has been a wallflower and it is about time it put on its pumps. India enjoys huge global respect as a successful democracy. In marked contrast to China's, its rise raises few hackles in the West. And its formidable intellectuals, entrepreneurs, Bollywood stars and diaspora give tremendous "soft" power. But in comparison with its stature, its influence remains pitiful, despite its recognition by America as a member of the nuclear club-the main (perhaps only) foreign-policy achievement of Mr Singh's first term.
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