A tipping point for the Government

The minor coalition partners of the Government and the ruling ‘Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna’ (SLPP) have got into open warfare, deepening the chasm between them.

The Lankan political pot reached a boiling point last week as National Freedom Front Leader Wimal Weerawansa and ‘Pivithuru Hela Urumaya’ Leader Udaya Gammanpila, two influential figures of the ruling coalition, were stripped of their Cabinet portfolios and shown the door by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at a hurried Cabinet reshuffle.

It was no secret that the group supportive of Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and the minor parties of the Government, organised themselves as the “G10” group, have been at daggers drawn for many months now. The last week’s dramatic events were a result of the simmering tensions between the two factions. It was reported that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa tried to iron out the differences between the two factions, but to no avail.

Things came to a head when eleven minor parties in the Government, in a strong indication of parting ways with the SLPP, got onto one stage for the launch of what they called a “National Statement” titled “Mulu Ratama Hari Magata” (The whole country on the right path) last Wednesday. At the well-attended event at Sri Jayewardenepura, Gammanpila and Weerawansa fired a broadside at Finance Minister Rajapaksa, who has turned out to be their anathema, while making thinly-veiled accusations against him over the worsening economic crisis.

Hours after this event, the duo had to pay the price from their Cabinet ranks. The President’s message was loud and clear. Like in the previous instance of the unceremonious sacking of Susil Premajayantha from the State ministerial post he held, the President had spoken again with his actions that all in the Government ranks should bear the collective responsibility in mind at all times and that overly criticisms of the Government’s decisions are not welcome outside of its meeting rooms.

Blame game

Energy Minister Gamini Lokuge assumed duties on Monday.

Putting up a fight against the act of removing his political comrades from Cabinet, Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara, a well-seasoned Left-wing politician, has decided to withdraw from the work of his Ministry and Cabinet meetings. He, however, forthrightly rejected the notion of siding with the Opposition parties, observing that the ideologies of his group and those of the Opposition are poles apart.

In the meantime, the two warring factions in the Government have intensified attacks against each other, causing further damage to its unity. The MPs, who are loyal to Minister Basil Rajapaksa, put the blame of the fuel crisis squarely on Gammanpila, while accusing Weerawansa of meddling in the Government’s affairs in pursuit of “his dreams of becoming the Prime Minister”. Gammanpila retaliated that he was removed because those in the Government could not digest the truth he spoke.

The two rebellious ex-Ministers, at a press conference held a day after their sacking, charged that they were removed at the behest of Minister Rajapaksa. They went on to dub him “the Ugly American”, and alleged that he let the economy go from crisis to crisis, perhaps deliberately with ulterior motives. Weerawansa said that they would not accept ministerial portfolios again under the incumbent President.

Minister S. B. Dissanayake, who was an unhappy man in the past year for not receiving a Ministerial Post, had a stroke of luck to get into Cabinet in place of Weerawansa. Minister Dilum Amunugama also got elevated to a Cabinet rank from the State Minister position. Arundika Fernando, who resigned over a recent incident where his son was involved in a clash of students at the Ragama Medical Faculty, made a comeback as the State Minister of his previous portfolio.

Reactions

Meanwhile, the minor party representatives of the Government, who met in the aftermath of the expulsion of two of their Party Leaders from ministerial ranks, have decided to take a backseat in the Government.

SJB’s protest in Colombo against power cuts

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led by former President Maithripala Sirisena has thrown in its lot with the minor party grouping, but at the same time, it seems to have certain reservations about its future political decisions. Capitalizing on the latest political situation, the SLFP seniors led by former President Sirisena had had an audience with the President yesterday to discuss the issues between the SLPP and the SLFP, while familiarizing the latter on the SLFP’s 15-point programme, which have been proposed to deal with the current socio-economic mess in the country.

This whole episode meant little to the already-disillusioned voting masses, who have been confronted with bigger problems in their day-to-day lives due to power cuts stretching to nearly seven and half hours in some areas, fuel and LP Gas shortages and long queues for them, and the spiralling Cost of Living. The common man on the street scoffed at the Cabinet reshuffle as a political drama that brought no solutions to the pressing problems they have been enduring, as captured on television cameras in the last few days.

Internal fissures are no strange phenomenon to coalition Governments in Sri Lanka. In fact, major split-ups, which caused the downfall of Governments in 2015 and 2010, are still fresh in the memory of the public. Yet, the incumbent Government, which has more than three years left of its mandate, is too young for divisions like what was seen last week. On top of all the grave problems cropping up on multiple fronts, a political crisis was the last thing both the Government and the people needed at this moment.

Shifting sands

Last week’s chain of events did not happen out of the blue. The steam had been building up inside the Government and it was a matter of time before the air gushed out.

It was not long ago that the SLPP held a massive campaign rally in Anuradhapura without inviting the other parties representing the Government. Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is also the SLPP’s chief political mastermind, was the face behind this rally, and it sent strong signals that the SLPP wants to chart a course of its own without depending on its coalition partners. The SLPP stalwarts were not happy that these coalition partners, including the SLFP, were there to take the credit for good deeds of the Government, but were quick to distance them whenever a controversial decision was taken.

On the other hand, the SLFP Members recently spoke of not contesting under the SLPP ticket at future elections as they have felt slighted by the ruling party’s treatment of them. In addition, the nationalist and Leftist forces that drummed up support to bring the incumbent Government into power have been complaining of side-lining them. The Yugadanavi-New Fortress Energy deal and many other recent decisions of the Government did not sit well with the ethos of those nationalist groups. It is important to note that Gammanpila and Weerawansa, with several others including Minister Nanayakkara, represent that nationalist camp in the Government. One may argue that these two former Ministers are not genuine in their criticism, but are keener on their political survival as the popularity of the Government is visibly fading. Whatever it may be, the detachment of nationalist and Leftist forces does not bode well for the Government at this critical time.

The main Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) led by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, is having a field day due to escalating tensions within the Government and the overall gloom surrounding the country’s economy. It has invited the people to join in a large anti-Government protest in Colombo on March 15. It has also been organising a series of protests against power cuts and the fuel shortage over the past week.

The dramatic events unfolded last week have opened up a new narrative in the Lankan political spectrum. This week will see more interesting developments and those will eventually determine which way the tide will flow.

The launch of the ‘Mulu Ratama Hari Magata’ Statement.