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The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has done more than just sweep the old guard from power in the House of Representatives elections held last week. With a clear majority in the 275-member lower house, it has become the largest political force in the county and a beacon of hope for millions of people.  However, as the celebrations fade, the new government, the new finance minister to be precise, faces a sobering reality: the task of translating populist fervor into a functional, resilient economy. The economy the new government inherits is a study in contradictions. On one hand, the macroeconomic indicators are deceptively stable. The recent central central bank data show inflation at decades-low levels, and foreign exchange reserves have bolstered to nearly Rs 3,200bn by mid-Dec 2025—more than half of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). However, this stability is a mere thin veil over structural decay. The new finance minister’s desk will be piled with reports of subdued domestic demand, slow credit disbursements, rising non-performing loan (NPL) levels in the banking sector, and waning investor confidence.  Although the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected a real GDP growth of 5.2 percent for the upcoming fiscal year, the real situation of the economy tells a story of empty villages, industries running at below capacity, agricultural land remaining fallow, and a youth population migrating abroad in record numbers. The new minister inherits a nation where remittance is the primary life-support system, accounting for nearly 24 percent of the GDP, while the domestic manufacturing and industrial sectors continue to shrink. The RSP, in its election manifesto, has promised a transformation that sounds almost mythical in the Nepali context. The plan envisions building a $100bn economy by more than doubling the country’s GDP within the next five years. It also aims to raise per capita income to $3,000, up from the current estimate of around $1,650. In addition, it has vowed to create 1.2m jobs to reduce forced labor migration. To achieve this, the party has banked on ‘development diplomacy’, a strategy aimed at courting investment from India, China, and the Western world without falling into geopolitical debt traps.  Addressing voters after his victory in Chitwan last week, RSP President Rabi Lamichhane said his party would align development priorities, foreign policy objectives, and private sector interests. “We will take relations to new heights by cooperating in development. Our policies will be to protect and safeguard the private sector,” Lamichhane said. “RSP will continuously work to create an environment for domestic investment and to ensure investment security.” Likewise, in his reply to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s congratulatory message on social media platform X, Lamichhane said the RSP and its government will remain dedicated to fostering a relationship built on mutual respect and shared prosperity where the party will prioritize development diplomacy.  Perhaps the most immediate and symbolic challenge lies in the party’s stance on the duties on automobile imports. RSP Vice-chair Swarnim Wagle, who is expected to lead the finance ministry in the new government, earlier told the media that the new government would review the exorbitant duties of as much as 300 percent on motor vehicle imports. This represents a familiar two-sided challenge for a finance minister. On one hand, lowering these duties would lower the cost of living, stimulate the transport sector, and please the urban middle class that fueled the party’s electoral victory. On the other hand, motor vehicle taxes have been one of the primary sources of revenue for the government. Reducing them necessitates a radical broadening of the tax base elsewhere—something previous governments have failed to do.  The intensifying conflict in West Asia has already prompted the government to suspend labor approvals for 12 countries. If the Gulf crisis spirals further, it would not only choke the flow of remittances but saddle the new government with the herculean task of rescuing and repatriating over 1.7m workers. Managing this massive influx of returnees within a stagnant domestic job market will be a challenge of unprecedented proportions for the new administration.  The prospects, however, are genuine. For the first time in decades, Nepal has a government with a clear mandate and a younger, more technocratic leadership. If the RSP can simplify the business environment and leverage its development diplomacy to attract high-quality FDI, the target of achieving seven percent annual growth is not impossible. However, the challenges are equally real. The new government will have no representation in the National Assembly which remains dominated by the opposition. Any radical fiscal legislation will not pass through the upper house. Moreover, the youth that voted for the RSP expects immediate results. If the promised 1.2m jobs do not materialize quickly, the same ‘blue wave’ that brought them to power could turn into a tide of disillusionment. The new finance minister will not just inherit a fiscal budget to implement, s/he will be inheriting the hopes of a generation that has finally dared to believe in a ‘New Nepal’. It remains to be seen whether the bell can ring in actual prosperity.