Kathmandu, Sept. 29 -- The two alpha males of Nepali politics finally sorted out their differences, ending months of deadlock that had brought governance to a standstill.

They agreed on the one-job-one-person principle, so K P Oli will serve out his term as prime minister, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal will head the party. To drive the point home, Dahal held the party secretariat meeting last week not in Baluwatar, but at Paris Danda HQ of his erstwhile Maoist party in a room festooned with hammers and sickles, and life-size busts of Marx, Lenin, Mao and Stalin. Yes, Stalin.

The senior leaders are now senior citizens, and the masked men had a hard time climbing the fire escape ladder to reach the green-carpeted third floor meeting room. The se...