Political tussles

THE formation of a National Government has gotten off to a shaky start with the swearing in of the Cabinet postponed due to infighting. The fracas is both over the National List and the sharing of portfolios within the Cabinet, which could have deep repercussions on the cohabitation of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. 

Juicy snippets of news are also filtering in from both sides, with United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) General Secretary Susil Premajayantha resigning from his post as discord intensified. Talking to media, Premajayantha has sought to distance himself from National List appointments that have earned the ire of some quarters of the public for appointing candidates that have lost the preferential vote race. 

Still others have taken up the cause for the defeated candidates, insisting compromise is part and parcel of politics and the law should be applied to all of them to ensure that all parliamentarians do the job they were appointed for. As the game for favourites continues, National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader Wimal Weerawansa has threatened legal action against Premajayantha for not nominating a NFF candidate to Parliament from the UPFA National List. Perhaps a chance to step aside was welcome respite for the General Secretary. 

Even as small parties fight for their pound of flesh, main constituent Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) is in the fray on both fronts to boost chances for candidates that are partial to President Sirisena. But this has to be balanced with efforts to wean loyalists away from former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who has voiced his intention to sit in Opposition. The National List and carrot Cabinet portfolios will have to be judiciously handed out to prevent a split within the SLFP.  

National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) Leader Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera went on record this week criticizing the proposed national government and faulting Prime Minister Wickremesinghe for not forming a Government with a simple majority. With a jumbo Cabinet in the offing the civic movement leader who helped pave the way for Sirisena’s presidency, has questioned the expense and wastage such an enterprise would naturally entail. 

Only three Ministers were hastily sworn in on Monday ahead of a key visit by a high-powered US State delegation led by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Biswal and Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Tom Malinowski. The three reappointed were justice, resettlement and foreign minister slots that were central to continue dialogue with the US but other important portfolios such as finance is reported to be in the middle of a heavy tussle between the SLFP and the UNP.

The National Government was mooted as a fix-all to spur reconciliation, which will likely require Constitutional amendments that would need a two-thirds majority in Parliament. But indications are that the President and the Prime Minister aiming for the stars will be undermined by political greed and party loyalties. Losing sight of the big picture so early on does not bode well for the future and could well undermine public faith in the Cabinet even before it is born.