On one day, he warned that Nepal’s political parties must abandon the old game of making and breaking governments. The next day, he sat with KP Sharma Oli and signed a provincial power sharing deal that does exactly what he had condemned. It was a reminder that Nepal’s politics continues to revolve around power first and principles later. Oli has repeatedly presented himself as a leader committed to political stability and institutional governance. Provincial governments increasingly look like extensions of federal bargaining rather than autonomous governments accountable to provincial voters.