Cabinet reshuffle enough to save this Govt.?

Monday, 22 May 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The long-rumoured Cabinet reshuffle is to take place today, finally bringing to an end weeks of speculation and uncertainty. Who ends up with what portfolio will make the headlines of tomorrow’s national newspapers, resulting in fresh excitement and renewed hope that the National Unity Government has, at long last, resolved its internal squabbles and can now move forward, setting its Good Governance agenda in motion. At the risk of sounding cynical to the point of irrationality, however, this may well turn out to be wishful thinking.

The Yahapalana coalition is not the first Government to opt for a reshuffle in an attempt to save some face and it certainly won’t be the last. When the odds are stacked against them, all governments to date have reshuffled their deck, hoping to create a false sense of strengthened resolve to meet their obligations to the voting public, instilling in the latter some confidence that their vote was not in vain. Unfortunately, all governments to date have failed to deliver in this regard, one way or another. Whether or not the current administration will be any different is anyone’s guess, but given its track record over the past two years it’s more likely than not that it will go down the same road taken by its predecessors.

Of particular note this time around, however, is the rumoured trading of places between two key UNP ministers. While the two have not been without their fair share of controversy, the latter in particular has objectively done a commendable job of defending Sri Lanka on the international front. Speculation has been rife that disgruntled ministers from the SLFP side of the Government have demanded that his portfolio be taken away from him, citing dubious reasons best known to them.

The UNP had, at least till Saturday (19 May), stubbornly refused to agree to any change in its rank in the event of a reshuffle, but according to media reports (at the time of writing this editorial), the party leadership has finally given into the demand. We question the wisdom in this decision, not to whitewash the Minister in question, but rather to attempt to understand why one of the more competent members of this Cabinet is being punished this way.

Whatever shape this reshuffle ends up taking, one thing is clear: Despite the brave face put on by the Government, cracks have emerged and both constituent parties are desperately trying to keep their “unity” intact - at least on the surface.

Conflicting statements have been issued to the media by both sides, with some MPs even threatening to sit in the Opposition as ‘independent’ MPs - playing directly into the hands of the Joint Opposition, all too happy to use the situation to its advantage by highlighting the Government’s inability to stay united. It is doubtful that, given its rising unpopularity, any amount of reshuffling is going to save this Government come 2020, until and unless it puts its house in order. Time is running out.