Staying alive

Tuesday, 3 January 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa started the new year with something of a bang when he told the Hindu earlier this week that he wished to topple the National Unity Government in 2017.

Even though the Constitution guarantees the UNP-SLFP coalition’s safety over the next three years, Rajapaksa has gone on record saying that he is open to the possibility of serving Sri Lanka as Prime Minister under the continued presidency of Maithripala Sirisena in the event the UNP is somehow ousted from power. This has no doubt given the increasingly unpopular Yahapalana Government some pause to think, considering it has lost or is in the process of losing the faith and support of many of its staunchest backers, including civil society activists whose rhetoric in the run-up to the 2015 polls proved vital for the election of both President Sirisena and Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe.

It’s not as if this Government has been a total failure. In terms of democracy and rule of law, the UNP-led administration has made some significant achievements over the past two years. Among the many feathers in its cap are the Right to Information Act, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution and the commencement of the Western Megapolis Project.

The coalition has laid the groundwork for a new Constitution that will, at least on paper, ensure good governance and, most importantly, provide a lasting solution to the national question. But the Government’s mishandling of the economy and a supposed mismanagement of communal relations have resulted in a status quo that is favourable to chauvinistic forces, desperately holding out hope for a major blunder it could capitalise on in order to grab power.

The Central Bank Bond scandal almost proved to be that one blunder too many, but fortunately for the Government, the heat it generated seems to have dissipated somewhat. But it’s only a matter of time till the increasingly commonplace allegations of corruption and abuse of power starts to take its toll.

At least constitutionally, the Government is here to stay until the next parliamentary elections. So how exactly the Joint Opposition plans to “topple” a sitting, democratically elected government is anybody’s guess. But what must be frustrating to supporters of the administration - or what remains of that support base - is its inability to relate to the masses.

The Colombo-centric UNP has long been famous for not being in touch with the common man and this Government’s gross inability to communicate its objectives and achievements to the voting public is going to cost it dearly, come election time.

Any progress made since 8 January 2015 has been lost on a majority of the populace due to the sheer incompetence of those tasked with taking the message of good governance to the people.

Ultimately, it is up to the Government to ensure its own survival. The Opposition will do what it has to do to return to power. But if the Yahapalana Government is serious about sticking around long enough to deliver on its promises, it’s about time it started listening to the people.