Pakistan’s PM of compromise

Shehbaz Sharif, who was elected Pakistan's prime minister for a second time yesterday, has stepped to the fore as a compromise candidate suited to turbulent times.

The 72-year-old has been voted in by lawmakers as the head of a shaky coalition, shutting out loyalists of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, after February 8 polls returned no clear winner.

Shehbaz is the younger brother of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, considered the stronger personality and more charismatic of the pair.

Shehbaz first served as prime minister in 2022, heading a similar broad alliance of parties that combined to boot Khan from power.

A seasoned administrator with a reputation stemming from his nuts-and-bolts work in provincial politics, Shehbaz is known for having a penchant for poetry.

The Sharif family's military-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party won the most seats in the election, but fell short of an expected majority in a poll that was marred by allegations of pre-poll rigging and vote tampering.

Khan's lawmakers won the most seats. But Khan's faction fell short of the majority needed to rule and are set to sit in full-throated opposition, leaving Sharif to steer a shaky coalition including PML-N's historic rivals Pakistan Peoples Party.

While keeping the coalition intact and fending off Khan's unquashed defiance, the new prime minister must also grapple with a grinding economic downturn and a worsening security situation.

Political heavyweight and three-time prime minister Nawaz was PML-N's top candidate when they anticipated better results in last month's vote.

Analysts say Shehbaz has been swapped in to steer the coalition because of his reputation as a deal-maker, but that Nawaz -- dubbed the "PML-N Supremo" by domestic media -- will still call the shots.

Shehbaz jointly inherited the family's steel business as a young man and was first elected to provincial office in 1988. For years he served as chief minister of Punjab province, his family's power base.

Sharif has been credited with Punjab's development but also has been linked to graft and corruption -- charges supporters say sprang from a political vendetta by Khan.

However, Sharif remains popular, particularly in Punjab, despite lurid tabloid headlines about multiple marriages and a property portfolio that includes luxury apartments in London and Dubai.