NEW YORK - Having reclaimed some political space by rallying his Pakistan Peoples Party, President Asif Ali Zardari is likely to survive in power, a leading American newspaper said Thursday. But he remains a weak, unpopular leader, leaving the larger question for Pakistan unchanged: When will its elected leaders be capable of solving the vast assortment of crushing economic, security and social problems facing the country? The New York Times wrote. For the first time in months, President Asif Ali Zardari is doing what presidents normally do - giving rousing speeches, travelling around the country and asserting himself publicly as the countrys chief official, The Times said in a dispatch from Islamabad. This is unusual behaviour for a leader who rarely left the presidential palace, except to travel abroad, and hunkered down in silence under a barrage of media criticism for months last year, leading many to conclude that he was losing his grip on power, it said. It is an urgent question, too, for the Obama administration, which is depending on cooperation from Pakistan, its prickly ally, to help carry out its new war strategy for neighbouring Afghanistan. Pakistans western mountains are a sanctuary for militants, and the administration has been pressing Pakistan to do more to flush them out. While Zardari has been receptive to American overtures, championing the war against militants far earlier than any of his political opponents, his weakness has hobbled his ability to effectively defend the American policies he supports, like last years large American aid package. As a result, American officials continue to rely heavily on their relationship with the countrys powerful military, a tradition that goes back decades, but that also serves to undermine the Obama administration. But while Zardari may have reclaimed some political space, rallying the grass roots of his party, and seizing headlines that even one month ago had belonged to voices hostile to him, many analysts see his belated outreach as a last-ditch attempt to fend off his enemies and salvage his presidency. Hes come to the conclusion that if judiciary or the military want to knock him out, they can, Hasan Askari Rizvi, an analyst in Lahore, was quoted as saying. But he wants to fight back. That has given him a new lease on life, but his basic problem remains the same. The Times said, The most serious of those vulnerabilities has always been his strained relationship with Pakistans military, a powerful institution whose leaders have ruled the country for about half of Pakistans 62-year history. When he took office in September 2008, Zardari struck a conciliatory tone with India, the militarys nemesis. He angered the military again when he indicated that intelligence should be under civilian control. He has since backed off those positions. This month he offered remarks praising the army. He removed another irritant in December, giving civilian control of Pakistans nuclear arsenal to his prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, a pliable leader more palatable to the military. But another potential for confrontation looms this year, when the army chiefs term expires, as the power to appoint a new one is Zardaris. Perhaps the most immediate threat to Zardari, analysts said, comes from CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who gained national popularity by taking up the causes of human rights and fighting corruption. One possible effect is that Zardari will simply shrink to insignificance by giving up the expanded powers he inherited from former President Pervez Musharraf, something he promised to do during his political campaign. Those powers have proved to be more a liability than an asset, becoming a lightning rod for Zardaris opponents, including former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who have demanded that the president relinquish them and restore parliamentary system. So far, Sharif has refused to join the chorus of voices calling for Zardaris resignation. But his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, has taken a harder line. The Sharifs were conspicuously absent during Zardaris visit to Punjab. In recent weeks, all the provincial assemblies, except Punjabs, issued resolutions supporting Zardari. Unlike in other times in Pakistans politics, it seems unlikely, at least for now, that Zardaris political opponents will be his undoing. In a nation with a long history of military coups, even his most ardent critics want to see civilian governance survive. Strangely, Zardaris weakness may serve him in the end. The army seems to have less appetite to re-enter politics directly, having seen its reputation badly tarnished during Musharrafs years of military rule. A weak civilian leader, on the other hand, presents no threat to its power.