KARACHI, March 22: Vice-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party and now an also-ran in the much talked about race for prime minister, Makhdoom Amin Fahim put on a brave face in front of the media as he felicitated Yusuf Raza Gilani – the man destined to be the next PM – while he expressed the desire to keep his party intact and move on.

He was speaking to a small group of journalists gathered outside his Defence residence here late on Saturday night.

Journalists had begun to stake out the Makhdoom’s Karachi residence soon after the PPP announced Mr Gilani’s name as its nominee for the prime ministerial slot in Islamabad. Considering the gravity of the situation, there was an air of uncertainty whether Mr Fahim would face the media or not.

But sure enough, the media-men were not disappointed when, at the eleventh hour, he rolled up in the driving seat of a luxury sedan and decided to oblige the journalists present.

“The government will be formed. Whatever happens, it should be in the people’s favour,” he said, speaking in terse sound-bites, as he stepped out of the car to face the cameras in front of his expansive house.

Though he maintained his trademark cool for the most part, there did indeed appear cracks in the armour.

When asked what his relationship with Yusuf Raza Gilani was like, the Makhdoom of Hala replied: “He is my friend, my brother. I will go to Islamabad to vote for him. My main interest is keeping the party intact. It is my party. We will move forward.”

As for the discussions between PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Mr Fahim told journalists to “ask those involved,” indicating that he had nothing to do with it.

When a journalist asked him if he believed a conspiracy had been hatched against him, he retorted that “I don’t believe in conspiracies, nor am I a conspirator.”