People envy their rulers, who seem to have all the luck, but there occur times when the latter bemoan their much-coveted positions, just like the title character in Shakespeare’s play, ‘Henry IV’. The English King says, “Uneasy lies the...
All Cabinet ministers are equal in rank, technically, but not all their portfolios are equally prestigious. Cabinet reshuffles, therefore, invariably lead to disgruntlement among those who lose their previously held plum portfolios and others who fail to secure them....
Last week’s government Gazette Extraordinary on the special commodity levy triggered a media feeding frenzy. It was widely thought that the government had done an upward revision of taxes on food items such as sprats, dried fish, butter, salt,...
Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is in the news again. Having been sworn in as the UNP’s National List MP, heis now proffering unsolicited advice to the government on what needs to be done to contain the raging pandemic...
The postponement of the Sir John Kotelawala National University (KNDU) bill, which was to be taken up for debate in the parliament on 06 August, saved both the government and the country a lot of trouble. The government awakened...
The pandemic situation is taking a turn for the worse in this country, and fear is being expressed that the worst is yet to come. Warnings of impending disasters may be taken seriously anywhere in the world but not...
The much-awaited talks between Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the protesting teachers’ unions have failed, and the protesters are threatening to intensify their trade union action. The government is hopeful that it will be able to solve the dispute...
The government seems to have softened its stand on the ongoing teachers’ protest campaign. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is likely to meet the protesting trade union leaders with a view to sorting out teachers’ salary anomalies. Minister of Education Prof....
Many are the problems that the incumbent SLPP government is trying to wish away. One of them is the ultimatum given by the Catholic Church, which is demanding justice for those who perished in the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks,...
An attempt by the SJB-led Opposition to oust Udaya Gammanpila as the Minister of Energy by moving a no-confidence motion against him over the fuel prices hikes, etc., has prompted the ruling SLPP to fight in defence of him....
The significance of Basil Rajapaksa’s recent entry into the parliament may not have been lost on keen political observers. His swearing-in marked the culmination of a series of political events and processes triggered by the January 2015 regime change....
The UPFA government under President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s stewardship faced the same fate as the Titanic, in 2015. That regime was widely thought to be invincible; Rajapaksa had been re-elected with a mammoth majority about five years before, and the...
