With the election two weeks away, The Sunday Morning sat down with former Prime Minister and United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe for a discussion on his party’s prospects, his ideologies and focus on the economy, and the reasons that led to his Government’s defeat in 2019. The following are excerpts of the interview. You are generally seen as someone more internationalistic than nationalistic. Is that a fair assessment? In this game, we are all nationalistic. But we have to understand the reality of global politics. When you need to co-operate in national interest, you co-operate. The world has become more globalised, so you can’t prevent thinking internationally; if you don’t have that, your national interests get affected. People who have worked closely with you say you are inflexible and hard to reason with. Are you? I look at all ideas. There has to be flexibility in politics. But you must hold firm your major ideals. No government or party can disown their decisions because then you lose credibility with the voters. Do you believe that the Bond Scam was the second biggest reason after the Easter attacks that led to the defeat of your Government? No, that was not the reason. Our loss of votes, if at all, was not throughout Sri Lanka; it has been a sizeable section of the Sinhala votes, which I think was affected by the Easter bombs. But we did not sell our achievements, thereby allowing our opponents to attack us. We should have taken the offensive and shown what we had done. Some in the former Government have said that it was you who was against advertising and publicity. No. We told each ministry that they had to publicise their achievements and showcase what they had implemented, but it wasn’t done. You can’t get other ministers to do that for you. But shouldn’t the government as a whole promote their achievements? Yes. We did that through the Ministry of Media and Information. But if you think advertising is the only means, sorry, I don’t agree with that. I feel it’s about going around the country and explaining to people at public functions you attend as well as to the media, what exactly you and the Government have done, and if you communicate that properly, people will accept it. That is what we have been doing from 1977 onwards. (You need to) remember that the attacks on us by the other side were on media talk shows and at grassroots-level meetings. So we have to counter that. The private sector and business community were instrumental in bringing your Government to power in 2015. But four years later, they overwhelmingly voted for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Is this because you let them down with excessive taxation and a lack of policy consistency? No, there were people in the business community and other segments of society who felt there should be a completely new face. They were disgusted with all politicians. So they went for the one man who was not connected to politics. The incidents in Parliament in late 2018 also reflected very, very badly on politicians. Having live TV sessions in Parliament made it worse, not just for one party but the whole Parliament. In UK, live TV improved the quality of parliamentary proceedings, but not here. The TV stations and print media both wanted to sensationalise it. There was a hardcore group that was happy, but everyone else was disgusted. There were low GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rates year after year during your Government. Were you, along with the Central Bank, too focused on fiscal consolidation at the cost of economic growth? What happened in 2012-13 was that we borrowed heavily and the money went towards the non-tradable sector, and non-tradable goods; if it was tradable goods, our economy would have expanded. Many of the construction projects didn’t give a return. Those are the debts we couldn’t repay. By 2014, we were in serious trouble and that is why Mahinda Rajapaksa went for an early presidential election. But we stabilised the economy. The growth rate, from that heavily inflated one, came down as we stabilised and moved investments into the more productive areas of the economy, and that’s how it was going to pick up. We got a primary surplus on the budget for the first time in 60 years in 2018. So we were able to meet all the government expenditure, other than the interest payments, with the revenue we raised, which was not the case earlier. We were able to pay off the deficit – we should have done this earlier, but the war intervened. With the Mahaweli Project and others, our production went up. We had a deficit then, (but) with the hope of repaying it. However, the war delayed it, and some of the policies of the other side also didn’t work in our favour. So now, we want to get another primary surplus because that gives space for growth. But corporate taxes were high, weren’t they? Taxes went up, but we were in a position to achieve a surplus in the primary budget, which would then enable the economic situation to improve. But unfortunately in 2019, the Easter bomb was a setback. Our economy was strong enough for us to recover by the end of the year, and 2020 should have been another primary surplus year. But the business community was constantly complaining that policies changed every couple of months. Why was that? Not every couple of months; there were some changes in tax policy, some of them due to the need to ensure revenue. But overall, there was no reason to complain because business went up, exports went up, we regained GSP Plus (Generalised Scheme of Preferences facility extended by the European Union), which helped both the fisheries and apparel industries. Not just in our Government but in many governments, there are what you call “tax u-turns”. But it’s only called a u-turn if taxes are increased. When it’s reduced, they don’t say it’s a “u-turn”. But all in all, there was no serious bar to business being carried on. This Government has been focused on encouraging domestic industries and businessmen via corporate tax cuts and import restrictions. Were your free trade policies detrimental to the growth of the domestic economy and businesses? No, the domestic industries expanded from 1977. Most of our domestic industries are value-added (industries), where we get the raw material from abroad. Earlier, we had a closed economy and ended up not eating rice for two days and not having sufficient clothing. They are talking of this self-sufficiency because they have lost about $ 6 billion in foreign exchange and instead of admitting that and looking for ways to improve, they’re talking about domestic industries. We are dependent on exports. If Europe says they are going to manufacture apparel or if rich countries stopped allowing their people to travel abroad, Sri Lanka would be affected. The world is becoming globalised and you can’t just look at domestic industries. Many of our industries are becoming competitive and they are able to compete with imports. Most of our production is domestic. I don’t think imports have knocked anyone out (of the local market). The reality is that SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) have to buy their raw materials, so when you ban raw material imports, then our smaller industries get affected. But we have been running huge trade deficits year after year, haven’t we? The solution to trade deficits is not cutting imports, but increasing exports. We ran trade deficits because the 2005-2015 Government didn’t encourage exports; they just depended on the traditional garment industry. The MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) agreement in its current form was brought in by your Government. It has proven extremely controversial. Do you still believe this Government should sign it? They will sign it, and there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s an aid programme. But this Government should tell the public that they are going to sign it. They have to explain it to their own supporters and Viyathmaga. Why are you asking me? What was the wisdom behind giving the ECT (East Container Terminal) to India when India has ports that compete with the Colombo Port? Sri Lanka’s transhipment goes to India. So we must not be antagonistic towards the Indians and risk having levies placed on transhipment coming from outside. There’s no way one port in India can meet India’s demand. The port on the west coast can’t meet the demands of the east coast. In another 10 years, transhipment to India will double. That’s why we have to work with India. They have an interest in the Colombo Harbour, which is still the most efficient one, and they will use the Colombo Harbour in addition to developing a transhipment port or two in India. Our competitors are the Dubai and Middle Eastern ports which try to come to the west coast. Secondly, India also has long-term interest in the development of Trincomalee, which could serve their eastern side. We have to be a logistics centre for the region, and the bulk of our cargo will go into India. So I think there is also reason for another port. But India must have a stake in each of these ports so that they realise “these are our (India’s) ports, this is for our convenience”. Is it possible for a small country like Sri Lanka to balance the global power struggle between the US and China, with India siding with the US? Why not? We are at the centre of the Indian Ocean and the UNP has managed these relationships quite well, including with India, Japan, China, the US, and Europe. Recently, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) stated that it had not received the lease payments made by China to your Government despite these being owed. Why was it not given to the SLPA? The Treasury decided that it was more advantageous for the money to go into our reserves. So it boosted our reserves by $ 1 billion, strengthening the rupee. It’s a government decision whether to give it to the Ports Authority or not. If they (SLPA) keep earning, they won’t need that. Do you think the relative failure of your Government has eroded confidence in the idea of national governments for good? I don’t think people will go for multiparty governments without a leading partner. That is one reason I said we should come back as the UNP and not under other names, because we paid the price. Even at the presidential election, we came under the swan, which is what former President Maithripala Sirisena contested under, and (that) was associated with that type of government. The elephant symbol would have helped us more. Will you partner the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) after the election, as expected by many? We can’t go together with the Pohottuwa, which is an anti-UNP party. It was specifically formed because the SLFP worked with the UNP. So how can we go with an anti-UNP force? What are your views on what some call the ‘militarisation’ of Sri Lanka since November 2019? We are asking for a government to run a country within the normal democratic structure where the civilian administration does its work and the armed forces do their task. How much time would you need to achieve economic recovery, and will it be based on taking loans over loans? Every country today is taking loans, even England and the US. The question is where to borrow from – your own market or outside? There will be higher debt levels for all governments in the world. Not a single government will be able to escape that, including the oil states of the Middle East. But you need a minimum of three years (for economic recovery) if the health crisis doesn’t spill over to next year. The apparel retail sectors in the West, which Sri Lanka is dependent on, are collapsing. A lot of small-time tourist operators in the West are going out of business and a fair amount of our tourism is from small-time tourist operators. As these are big ifs, we have to be ready for anything. In your manifesto, you speak of securing more funding from the IMF (International Monetary Fund). Some accuse your Government of having followed every condition the IMF put forward during the Extended Fund Facility over the past four years. Would it be more of the same next time? No. We had our plans and we implemented them. At times we disagreed with the IMF and those times, we sat down, discussed it, and compromised. That’s how any government deals with the IMF. You have been calling for youths to come forward within your party. In that spirit, what is the succession plan of the UNP? Parties don’t have succession plans. Parties must decide who the next leader should be when the leader steps down. It’s not like British royalty where there is a Prince of Wales and a number three and number four. But should you not be grooming someone? No, you don’t groom (one person) in politics. You groom a lot of young people and some of them will emerge as the leader. You can’t handpick anyone. How much responsibility do you take for the loss in the 2019 presidential election? I was not the candidate and it was not the UNP. Collectively, we will take responsibility, but I can’t take more than the usual amount of responsibility a party should take. Ideally, we should have had a different strategy. You have always adopted a less confrontational style of politics. Do you think that is what Sri Lankan voters enjoy, or do they prefer a more aggressive style? Politics must be non-confrontational. Meanwhile, we can have sharp ideological differences. Generally, people like that. There are times that they may want a different style. But most of the time, and today especially, they want a less confrontational system where there is general agreement among parties on long-term and medium-term goals. And you go before the electorate with your short-term policies. That’s what happens in the UK or the US. At the end of the day, their long and medium-term interests are the same. It’s how you play to the short term that gives basic stability to the non-political sector, be it business, academic, or even social, enabling them to do their planning and carry on their activities. You can’t change those policies every three or four years. Finally, how many seats are you hoping for at the upcoming election? We need the majority to form a government, and that’s what we are working towards. But realistically, what are your expectations? That’s what we are working towards. You can’t tell people “give me 75 and I’ll form a government!”