In a strange quirk of circumstance, Wickremesinghe was elected from the votes of MPs from his rival party. Instead of playing the role, he is supposed to play- that of transforming the political framework to a more democratic one- he appears to be intent on strengthening his power base. We are certain that Wickremesinghe is not keen on the next two and half years. He is more interested in running for President- this time at a proper election- in 2024.
Until a month ago, Ranil Wickremesinghe was Prime Minister six times but never President. He ran the risk of being the only leader of the United National Party (UNP) who did not go on to be the Head of Government in the country.
Now, all that has changed, albeit under very fortuitous circumstances. Wickremesinghe’s comeback is fairy-tale-like. Defeated at the general elections in August 2020 and sent home, he promised to resign from the UNP leadership and hand over the baton to the next generation. Initially, he said he would allow some time for the party to find a new leader and leave the following year.
That never happened. In true Wickremesinghe style, he lingered on. When the party was bickering over who should be nominated for its solitary National List slot, they looked towards Wickremesinghe again. That was more to save itself from embarrassment rather than because Wickremesinghe was some kind of political genius.
Returning to Parliament, Wickremesinghe made some useful contributions in his usual bumbling, ‘Mr. Bean’ style. Then, the popular uprising happened. The rest is history. What Sajith Premadasa refused- to form a government under a Gotabaya Rajapaksa presidency that was under fire from all sides- Wickremesinghe grabbed eagerly with both hands.
Then, hardly before the ink could dry on his letter of appointment as Prime Minister, fate beckoned. Rajapaksa had to flee. Who better to safeguard the Rajapaksa dynasty than Wickremesinghe?
Few remember now that, in the immediate aftermath of Rajapaksa fleeing the President’s House, there was a party leaders’ meeting where Wickremesinghe initially agreed to resign, along with Rajapaksa to pave the way for a new government. He quickly backtracked, probably realising that if he stayed on for a few more days as Prime Minister, the constitutional provisions would kick in and he would become Acting President.
If the collective opposition thought that he could be stalled by the vote in Parliament, they seriously underestimated Wickremesinghe’s cunning and instinct for political wheeler-dealing. Sajith Premadasa did the honourable thing and withdrew from the contest because a three-way tussle was always likely to be favourable to Wickremesinghe. In the end, that wasn’t enough.
In the few days prior to Parliament choosing a President, Wickremesinghe is known to have coaxed, cajoled and coerced many an MP. The bitter truth that the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) and its leader Premadasa have to come to terms with is that many of its own MPs, perhaps more than a dozen, voted for Wickremesinghe. No other explanation would suffice for the comfortable 52-vote majority that Wickremesinghe had over Dullas Alahapperuma.
The question now is what President Wickremesinghe’s plan is. To support him in Parliament he only has his loyal and faithful servant who replaced him, Vajira Abeywardena who reportedly played a key role in convincing opposition MPs to vote for Wickremesinghe. So, he is beholden to the contingent of MPs from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) to obtain the support required to govern.
Would Wickremesinghe play the role of the great statesman and democrat, abolish the Presidency which is the clarion call from the general public, punish the corrupt elements of the Rajapaksa regime even if they included members of the former ruling family and take reasonable steps to restore not only the economy but also justice and fair play and the rule of law?
Or, will he do nothing of that sort but try to consolidate himself in power while at the same time providing a safe haven for the Rajapaksas and their acolytes? That would mean a betrayal of the ‘aragalaya’, or the peoples’ uprising that propelled Wickremesinghe to power because all it would have then achieved was to dislodge the Rajapaksas- Mahinda, Gotabaya, Chamal, Basil and Namal- from the portfolios and positions they held- while allowing them the time and space to regroup when they still remained within striking distance of the centres of power.
If first impressions are anything to go by, Wickremesinghe appears to have chosen the latter. His brutal crackdown on protestors at Galle Face in the wee hours of the morning under the cover of darkness and allegedly using a private security outfit dressed in military fatigues, indicates that Wickremesinghe is not going to play the role of the great liberal democrat anymore.
Perhaps it is the result of being thwarted of absolute power for almost thirty years since he became the leader of the UNP. Perhaps it is Wickremesinghe’s wish to dispute his portrayal in the media and among the public as a wimp. Whatever the reason, what we have seen so far is not encouraging.
Wickremesinghe is making the same mistake that Maithripala Sirisena made. Sirisena was elected to the Presidency with votes from his rival party. Once elected, instead of playing the role he promised to play- that of abolishing the Presidency and retiring from politics- he became intent on building himself a base within the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). That not only destroyed the SLFP, it consumed Sirisena too in the process.
Now, in a strange quirk of circumstance, Wickremesinghe was elected from the votes of MPs from his rival party. Instead of playing the role, he is supposed to play- that of transforming the political framework to a more democratic one- he appears to be intent on strengthening his power base. We are certain that Wickremesinghe is not keen on the next two and half years. He is more interested in running for President- this time at a proper election- in 2024.
It doesn’t take a political genius to surmise that Wickremesinghe’s next target will be the SJB. He appears to have already poached some of them secretly to vote for him. Now he will lure them away more publicly with the carrot of a Cabinet portfolio dangled before them. When that does happen, those MPs who fall prey will offer the usual excuse: “serving the motherland at this time of great national crisis”.
No one will grudge President Ranil Wickremesinghe the manner in which he became President if he takes the moral high ground and is courageous enough to implement the demands of the people who brought him into power. However, if the Ranil Wickremesinghe of the past forty years is anything to go by, that will never happen.
