The stability of a government and a country’s political stability are not one and the same, though they are basically interdependent. In the late 1980s, there were very stable governments in this country; the J. R. Jayewardene administration had a five-sixths majority in the parliament, and the Ranasinghe Premadasa government also had comfortable majority, but there was no political stability in the country due to the second JVP insurrection so much so that the state coffers were almost empty by the time the armed wing of the JVP was crushed militarily. Tens of thousands of lives, mostly young, and properties worth billions of rupees were lost. The Gotabaya Rajapaksa government was also very stable with a two-thirds majority, but political instability set in, and plunged the country into utter chaos with the economy crashing and people taking to the streets.
Whether the current government has a clear majority in the House is in doubt. At the recent parliamentary vote on a motionmoved by the the Opposition, seeking the suspension of Standing Orders to fast-forward a censure motion against President Rajapaksa, the government mustered 119 MPs in the 225-member House. The outcome of that vote is construed in some quarters as proof that the government has a majority and therefore stable, but numbers could be deceptive in the Sri Lankan parliament, which has earned notoriety for crossovers.
SLPP fights on
The SLPP has not given up its efforts to hold on to power despite public protests, and the worsening economic situation, which will make more people to turn against the government. Long lines of vehicles near some filling stations are several kilometres long, in most cases, and thousands of people return home disappointed after spending many hours in queues in vain to obtain fuel. The food inflation has increased so much that even the middle-class people, who used to lead comfortable lives are struggling to make ends meet; the poor have had to skip meals.
What is needed urgently is to defuse political tensions and restore social order through the formation of a truly multi-party administration. Engineering crossovers from the Opposition and its dissident group is not the way to set about the task. It is the political parties represented in the parliament that should be in the government, and not turncoats.
The SLPP has succeeded in springing some defections from the SJB; Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara have accepted ministerial portfolios in the new Cabinet. The SJB has resorted to disciplinary action against the duo. One of the conditions the SJB put forth for supporting the government was that none of its MPs should not be enticed into decamping. The SLPP has violated that condition. Speculation is rife in political circles that some more SJB MPs are likely to break ranks to join the new Cabinet.
But the fact that the new Cabinet has some SJPB defectors as members does not make the government a multi-party administration. The need of the hours is a truly national unity government, which is a coming together of different political parties at daggers drawn, and not ambitious individuals, seeking positions or money.
The SLPP has also caused a rift in its dissident group by giving Cabinet posts to some rebel MPs such as Tiran Alles, Susil Premjanatha and Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa. They were among the SLPP MPs who chose to sit as independent MPs in the parliament. Nimal Siripala de Silva has defied the SLFP’s decision not to join the new Cabinet and taken oaths as a minister.
The SJB, the SLFP and other dissident SLPP constituents are at loggerheads with the government as a result.
‘New political culture’
Interestingly, the SLPP has made some Opposition MPs switch sides while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is calling for action to bring about a new political culture. Sri Lanka’s political culture is rotten to the core with politicians seeking power and wealth and not caring about public service expected of them. So, one may say crossovers are the name of the game in Sri Lankan politics. But such practices, which lead to animosity, and retaliation, are the least desirable at this juncture, given the crisis the country finds itself in. What is needed most is political reconciliation, which alone will have a calming effect on the polity and help usher in the much-needed political stability.
Out of sheer desperation, the SLPP leaders may be thinking that they managed to shore up the Mahinda Rajapaksa government between 2005 and 2010 with crossovers from the UNP and win a war, and, therefore, the same method will help them overcome the current crisis as well. True, their modus operandi worked under that government because the war brought people together as never before, and there were no unbearable economic hardships; there were no queues for fuel and essential goods, and the people had something to look forward to. The country was in the grip of terrorist attacks with the people living in fear, but it was not under a pall of uncertainty. Today, the government is trying to strengthen itself with crossovers while the people in the depths of despondency are demanding its ouster. A government that does not enjoy popular support is like a building with an unstable foundation.
Missed opportunity
It is wrong for the government to make Opposition MPs crossover at the expense of efforts being made to bring about political reconciliation, but the SJB should also share the blame for this state of affairs. It in its wisdom chose to practise political brinkmanship instead of discussing President Rajapaksa’s offers. It remained intransigent, calling for a snap election, or the resignation of the President for its leader Sajith Premadasa to take over as the Prime Minister. It did not display political maturity in handling the situation.
In negotiations, political or otherwise, one should not only be flexible and ready to reach middle ground and make concessions but also be seen to be so, if talks are to proceed and a solution is to be found. Premadasa did not at least seem amenable to a negotiated solution. He rejected all offers from the President contemptuously. True, the President tried to safeguard his own interests by offering the premiership to Premadasa, but that provided an opportunity for the SLPP and the SJB to work together for the sake of the country. If the SJB had softened its stand and grabbed that opportunity, both it and the country would have gained. It chose to be flexible too late in the day; the President had decided to appoint Ranil Wickremesinghe Prime Minister by that time.
That the SJB did not act fast enough in agreeing to form a joint administration, however, cannot be cited in justification of its MPs being made to cross over to the new government. It offered to co-operate with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe,albeit out of fear of losing some of its MPs to the government, but its offer should have been accepted and its condition that none of its MPs be made to defect met.
The economic crisis continues to worsen, and the country has to redouble its efforts to stabilize the economy and grant relief to the public if anarchy is to be prevented. Reconciliation, a prerequisite for political stability, without which the economic recovery will not be possible, requires give and take on both sides. Cloak-and-dagger operations have to be abandoned.
