Behave or you're history

Gyanendra's conduct had been "very good" in the month since he relinquished his 14-month grip on power and watched as parliament slashed his powers, wiped the word "royal" from the nation's institutions and ended Nepal's status as the world's last Hindu kingdom.

Mahat has vowed to cut back on spiralling palace expenses that rose to more than 10 million dollars in the nine months before Gyanendra stepped aside following weeks of mass rebellion against his total rule.

That sum, when the king had total control over palace finances unregulated by politicians, was six times the total for all of 2001-02, according to central bank figures.

Premier Girija Prasad Koirala has met several times with Gyanendra since becoming head of an interim government but officials have given few details of their palace talks.

However Nepali Congress colleague Mahat said Gyanendra should still be seen as a "unifying symbol" and the party would back him in a ceremonial role -- but the issue had not been broached by the premier.

"They still have not talked about his future," Mahat said. "The prime minister obviously advised him to adjust himself to the new situation. He couldn't have said no. He had no choice."

Mahat said the monarch must accept a ceremonial role.

"He has to or he has no future," he said in an interview Thursday. "We will have to see how he behaves."

The king's role is a likely source of dispute between politicians and Maoists -- who want to scrap the monarchy -- as they prepare for talks to end a 10-year rebellion.

The insurgency has left more than 12,500 dead in the impoverished nation where average annual income per head is just 240 dollars.

"The past government was indulging in extravagance and huge unproductive expenditures," said Mahat.

He highlighted the growth in spending on the security forces and "wild jaunts to Africa" by the king. Gyanendra travelled to several African countries late last year amid continuing political crisis at home.

Rising costs included a 550,000 dollar bill for Crown Prince Paras's trip to Austria, a senior economist at Nepal's central bank said, during which officials presented a pair of rhinos to the Vienna zoo.

Other costs included an 8,000 dollar hotel cancellation bill for an aborted trip to the United Nations, further foreign trips for the king and spending on a rival journalists' association as the monarch clamped down on the media.

Expenditure on the security forces rose by 50 percent in two years from 2002-03 as Gyanendra tried unsuccessfully to quell the Maoist insurgency and bolster his control of the country.