A conspicuous absentee during last week’s budget presentation was the Head of State, President Maithripala Sirisena. The formulation of the national budget is considered one of the most important functions of Parliament and therefore, presentation of the budget is one occasion that all members of Parliament are obligated to attend. Furthermore, the budget assumes greater significance as it is one of the constitutionally provided methods in which to evict a sitting government, by defeating the budget vote. Therefore, the absence of the President during the budget presentation is significant. It is no secret that there is little love lost between the President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s governing United National Party (UNP). The fact that the Budget has been touted as the UNP’s first solo effort since the advent of the Yahapalanaya administration in 2015, could well have been a factor that kept the President away. Irked by the President’s budget snub, UNP backbenchers have threatened to vote against his expenditure head, which incidentally has increased by 30% from last year’s Rs.10 billion to Rs. 13.5 billion this year. For a President that boasts of austerity, this increase, especially when a presidential election is due before the end of the year, is hard to fathom. However, the Budget itself has been described as “progressive” even by the likes of MP Namal Rajapaksa and there has been very little said against it by others. So much so that Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, still basking in the kudos coming his way, was heard commenting that Budget 2019 would ensure his party’s return to power at the next election. Such confidence could well be misplaced as its success is entirely dependent on the implementation aspect. Recent budgets have been quite notorious for being mere words on paper in the absence of a cohesive implementation mechanism. For instance, an independent think tank estimated that less than 50% of last year’s Budget proposals were actually implemented. As a consequence, revenue targets are rarely met while policy decisions remain restricted to paper. Be that as it may, President Sirisena publicly lamented last week that no one in government listens to him anymore – probably another reason why he decided to give the Budget a miss. Given his arbitrary action on 26 October last year, he can only blame himself for his current predicament. It is no secret that not only his own government MPs but even his own party members and civil society groups including the diplomatic corps have given him a wide berth, preferring to keep engagement to a bare minimum. The President’s comment has far reaching consequences as it is a subtle admission that he is no longer in control. Given this scenario, it is imperative that priority is given to a presidential election, one which he is constitutionally empowered to call any time now. Obviously still smarting from the disastrous fall out of the 26 October coup, the last thing on the President’s mind is a presidential election. He is adamant that a general election should come first, hoping against hope to have the last laugh against Wickremesinghe and his UNP. Addressing a Women’s Day event at Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo, President Sirisena said the need of the hour was to bring in a new government capable of pulling the country out of the current political, economic, and constitutional mess. He seems to have conveniently forgotten that he is the author of this mess. Having been elected as the “common candidate”, Sirisena lost no time in biting the hands that fed him. Instead of working according to the Yahapalana blueprint and attempting to achieve the goals set out therein, he chose to join hands with his main antagonist who has now become his chief supporter. In fact, former President, Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has now taken credit for breaking Sirisena’s marriage with the UNP, stating that he saved Sirisena from a bad marriage. Despite the lamentations, Sirisena is determined to assert his authority and has once again appointed a delegation of two non-government MPs and the Governor of the Northern Province who he appointed to the post, to represent Sri Lanka at the ongoing UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva. It may be recalled that Sirisena has made it a habit to only take Opposition MPs to accompany him and represent the country on his recent foreign trips. He has now gone a step further and appointed non-government MPs Sarath Amunugama and Mahinda Samarasinghe to represent the country in what is now turning out to be a case of compromising national interest for the sake of personal ego. Shedding light on the move, Joint Opposition MP Dinesh Gunawardena was quoted as saying that the President had appointed this delegation as he does not have confidence in the Government. As things stand, the UNHRC is expected to take a hard line on Sri Lanka given the lack of progress on ground with regard to previous commitments. Sirisena’s message to the Council, which is to be delivered by his chosen emissaries, is to allow Sri Lanka to sort out its own problems. This is nothing new and in fact has been Sri Lanka’s consistent stance ever since the end of the war, but has found little traction at the UNHRC. It has been reported that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has proposed tough action against Sri Lanka over its failure to meet commitments to the UNHRC. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is to formally present a report in this regard to the UNHRC on 20 March 20. Given this scenario, it will be interesting to see whether the President’s special emissaries will be able to convince Bachelet to either withdraw the report, bargain for more time to meet commitments, or as the President has requested, allow Sri Lanka to sort things out. If neither is achieved, it is no one but Sirisena who will have to raise his hand for letting the country down and compromising national interests. The President may well have his issues with the Government he heads, but he must not lose sight of the fact that it is neither he nor the presidency that is important, but the country and its people. To act in any manner that undermines this fundamental principle is to act against the people of this country. Be it the Budget, running the government, or facing an international inquiry, His Excellency must understand that national interest is non-negotiable.