COMMENT Pakatan Rakyat may have lost two general elections in succession, but there can be little doubt that it is the main driver of political change in the country.

Never in with a chance to win the 12GE, the opposition coalition did the next best thing which was to deny, in the March 2008 polls, the ruling BN its customary two-thirds majority in Parliament.

That achievement forced the incumbent prime minister out of office and compelled his replacement to undertake reforms, delusional as those have turned out to be, as witness the apparent crackdown on oppositionists and NGO types.

Rated with a chance to win GE13, Pakatan was made to miss out on a victory at the polls through electoral sorcery under the supervision of the Election Commission.

Nevertheless, Pakatan has succeeded in gaining the next best thing - a not insubstantial edge in the popular vote...