The big disappointment

Both leaders have been a disappointment to the public

Ranil Wickremesinghe celebrated 70 years this week. Unlike any other UNP leader before him, he has the record of being the longest-serving UNP Leader, being appointed as Prime Minister five times, and also the longest-serving Opposition Leader. While Ranil Wickremesinghe was celebrating his 70th Birthday, President Sirisena, who was pressuring the Rajapaksas to help him to go for an early Presidential election before the matters surrounding the court cases and investigations got further complicated for them, and in the process hoping to secure the candidacy from the SLPP/SLFP alliance and serve a second term, was hugely disappointed when he was informed that he could not be given the SLPP nomination. Although the SLFP and the SLPP had agreed in principle that a common alliance should be formed to contest future national elections, no real progress has so far been made in this regard. The former President Rajapaksa is not too keen, according to insiders, to form an alliance with Sirisena. While the SLPP has zeroed in on the former Defence Secretary, who now spends most of his time in court, the UNP have identified three possible candidates in Sajith Premadasa, Karu Jayasuriya, and Ranil Wickremesinghe. The young Premadasa is the most popular among the three, but lacks serious experience. 

Disappointing 

When the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Government was elected in 2015, there was so much hope both locally and internationally, especially after the autocratic and corrupt regime of Rajapaksa. It is generally recognised that Ranil Wickremesinghe is a clever leader, who can turn the tide in favour of the island nation. They expected him to come up with projects that had the potential to be harbingers of economic revival at all levels of society. Moreover, the UNP, even in the worst of times, had never resorted to racism or communalism to regain political power. The UNP, with a 70-year-old history, in 2017 lost to a newly formed party the SLPP because they failed to look after its supporters, resolve the fertiliser problem, and provide jobs to party supporters. The other was that it had neglected its Sinhala-Buddhist vote base. Many expected them to correct these shortcomings within a few months to advance as a party. Unfortunately, for the public, nothing has changed in the administration. The very people regarding whom the public have sent complaints to the Presidential Commission on Bribery - Malik Samarawickrama, Kabir Hashim, the 90-year-old R Paskaralingam and Lakshman Kiriella (Sirasa News) - continue in office undaunted. This arrogance of the UNP hierarchy has caused enormous damage to the party’s standing with the President, the SLFP, and at the grassroots. The UNP’s biggest supporters, the private sector, is also gradually losing faith in the UNP leaders. The leaders in the UNP have shown that they have no ability to guide the public sector to deliver results, nor do they walk the talk. The economic management led by the Central Bank has only helped to make matters worse for the Government. A Government minister has publicly accused them for working on an anti-Government agenda. It seems the cronies around the UNP leaders are not interested in reforms, and those accused of corruption continuing in office has only helped to heap more disrepute on the grand old party.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s burden is heavy and challenging; but he knew what he was getting into. He has the ability to carry that burden and deal with it effectively. That is the burden of being the Prime Minister. He has to, at least now, drop the people around him who are accused of corruption and mismanagement, to give this country a chance. However if he continues in the same mode, he will surely lose the battle, and the country will be the final loser. The country will not forgive him for that, given that Rajapaksa and the SLPP are no better.