In this season of greetings and goodwill, the growing hopes of a truce between the UNP and the SJB seems to be gathering momentum. Especially among the younger generation of activists, who are at the buddies or machang leve. The two warring factions across the board seem to have realised the folly of picking each other’s wounds on the one hand and the synergetic effects of the strengths of being together as a single party on the other.
Well, the circumstances that led to this realisation are worth recalling. UNP Leader and former President Ranil Wickremesinghe emerged a hero in the stressful exercise of salvaging the country from bankruptcy in so short a time as two years, much to the surprise of even the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and also the multitude of other global financial experts. He restored the supply chains of food and other essentials and ensured the continuous distribution of fuel, electricity and cooking and industrial gas. The three-digit inflation was brought down to a low single digit. United States Dollar reserves increased from 20 million to almost 6 billion. The business community breathed a big sigh of relief that Wickremesinghe did it for them without fanfare. With his miraculous turning around of the economy being felt at all levels of the Sri Lankan society, the libelous labels pasted on Wickremesinghe as an incompetent useless guy fell off like the leeches rubbed with soap.
No less persons than the Central Bank Governor and the former Secretary to the Treasury showered praises on Wickremesinghe and said publicly they themselves had much to learn from him. I feel that, Wickremesinghe put all his political enemies, media critics and adversaries to shame by proving his skills in crises management. His grasp of macro-economic fundamentals was amazing. He sized up situations promptly, identified the best of talents, trusted them, assigned them appropriate target-driven tasks, delegated authority to them, set standards for their daily output and created a conducive administrative environment for them to take decisions and use discretion without fear.
He ignored SJB and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa’s criticisms and non-cooperation attitude on grounds of his truck with the Rajapaksas (then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and then Prime Minister, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa) and went on to get nearly 100 Bills passed with the support of the Rajapaksas’ majority in the Parliament. A large number of these enactments are intended to help maintain the country’s banking and financial system stability. Finally, by the time he left office as the President, he had put the country’s economy back on track, and justified his choices, be it in gathering his team or in the course of re-ordering law and order. After all, that which goes often unnoticed in the rush is the fact that with this saga of inimitable endurance and statesmanship, Wickremesinghe has done his illustrious parentage proud.
Wickremesinghe was defeated nevertheless, grounding him to zero in the Parliamentary Elections but his fame still kept glowing as the elder statesman in the South Asian region. In the local scenario, the oft repeated charges against him began to be crumbling and turned out be untenable and vindictive. Meanwhile, he was often seen being invited to regional forums on geo-politics where he was quite at home with his counterparts and the interviewers of international repute.
Consequently, this phenomenon of Wickremesinghe led to change of hearts among the SJB’s younger front-liners and they began to understand him as a source of inspiration, so much so that they went on to consolidate their machang like rapport with their UNP counterparts, often meeting casually at social clubs or at each other’s homes at their own expense, which turned out to be a lovely experience for them where there is no trace of hatred, sneakers, schemers and conspirators and no prestige battlers but discussions about how to make the rightwing strong.
They appear to have understood that the best way to unite is to unite not as an alliance now only to depart later but as a single party under the symbol of the ever-green elephant for it is the symbol of what Wickremesinghe rightly describes as the “great tradition” which the noble founding fathers of the UNP rallied around. To reflect on their unseen presence and their sacrifices for the well-being of the country as well as the Party in the past in itself is simply inspiring and would no doubt help promote humility and understanding and mutual respect among the younger generation of Party activists.
Now that Wickremesinghe has reached the pinnacle of his legendary political career and also that he has lived unto his ripe old age, he has nothing more to achieve than to see the UNP to which he has dedicated all his life is restored to its pristine glory. If this were to happen, the younger generation needs to be given to feel a new sense of pride and belonging. Towards this end, let Wickremesinghe put Sirikotha at Premadasa’s disposal with no strings attached and Premadasa should henceforth be heading the UNP’s management and operations nation-wide.
And, in reciprocation, let Premadasa, in his wisdom, recognise the need to have Wickremesinghe guiding the UNP’s policy affairs as the Chairperson of what one may call a senate, consisting of the senior members from either side of the divide who are unwilling to contest or unlikely to win Parliamentary Elections. Also, there may be competent individuals believing in right-wing politics outside the UNP.
Such individuals also may be enlisted as senators under exceptional circumstances with the joint consent of the two Leaders. The national list nominations should be from among the senators but on a draw-lots system to avoid being seen as partisan or favoured. The incumbent General Secretaries of the two Parties may easily fit themselves into the two streams, namely, the policy stream and the operational stream, respectively.
It is a sad commentary in Sri Lankan politics that the right-wing leaders, despite their hugely quantifiable contribution to the development of country’s infrastructure, socio-economic transformation and the upliftment of the quality of life of its people, have failed to generate emotional waves of popularity at elections as did the Leftist leaders with their unique colloquial wit and oratorical skills. There is enough talent to face this challenge among the rightwing machang level colleagues. Let them keep the UNP rallies interesting, and the crowds spellbound on truthful facts, figures, tales and narratives.
I feel that, Premadasa too should be willing to take over Sirikotha as the head of management and operations while Wickremesinghe sits there as the chairperson of the senate, deciding on policy matters. With this win-win arrangement, the UNP would no doubt emerge exponentially stronger than ever. It is hoped that the machang phenomenon would develop in to a pace-setting catalyst in regrouping the camps in the rightwing politics. Any other ego-centric approaches fraught with paranoiac maneuvering behind the back of one another sans sincerity will not work.
The writer is a retired banker
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The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication