Nepal, Feb. 10 -- They keep coming. Newspaper columns and broadcast spaces in recent months have been filled with speculations over the longevity of the KP Sharma Oli government.

Critics argue the government has failed on all important fronts. Moreover, no post-1990 regime in Nepal, however strong, has lasted for more than a couple of years. There are also whispers about the absence of India's support for Oli. For all these reasons, his days as prime minister are numbered.

For their part, the government's defenders say the new coalition came into being precisely to end the state of frequent government change. The opposition parties, with their limited parliamentary strength, are day-dreaming if they think they can remove a coalition wit...