Zardari's heavy political baggage

Pakistan's President Asif Zardari is meeting with the UK's Prime Minister David Cameron as floods, diplomatic tensions and insurgency compete for his attention. Pakistan's first military ruler Field Marshal Ayub Khan once said his job was rather like trying to stop some frogs escaping from a bucket with nothing but bare hands. As soon as everything seemed to be under control, another frog suddenly leapt out at an unpredictable angle. Asif Zardari must feel a bit like that. He used to joke that he only lived in two places in Pakistan - the prime minister's house or a prison cell. That was when his wife Benazir Bhutto was alive. Now he has the best address of all - the Presidential Palace - and he got there on the back of a wave of anguish that swept the country after her assassination. It was a breathtaking achievement. Benazir Bhutto's supporters used to say that if she had become a bit corrupt it was because Asif Zardari had misled her. But then he was the one in power demanding the support and loyalty of her adherents. Despite a few high-level defections he has, for the most part, kept the Pakistan People's Party intact. He sees his next task as transferring dynastic power to the next generation. Straight after Benazir Bhutto's murder, Asif Zardari changed his son's name from Bilawal Zardari to Bilawal Zardari Bhutto. The Bhutto name still has the power to mobilise tens of millions of Pakistani votes. But for all that, the sympathy vote has dissipated and that is just one of his problems. Afraid for his security, Zardari rarely leaves the President Palace. He is coping with countless plots to kill him, civil strife, suicide bombs, US bombs, the floods - and those remarks from David Cameron.