The so-called brave warriors in Parliament who said they were ready for any eventuality are not ready and willing at all. On the contrary, they seem to be so gun-shy to the point they look like a bunch of embarrassed teenagers. This is true of certain politicians from both sides of the political isle. There have been many who ranted that they would step up to the plate, but when it came to crunch time, they are nowhere to be seen.
It is as if they have receded to the bar, to down a pint and boast about how they will give ‘em hell. Perhaps nobody even takes them seriously in the watering-holes any more. If they are not in the watering-holes, they are at some press conference or symposium bragging about how they would do things differently.
Dr. Harsha de Silva is an expert at this. He says he has all the answers. But he is so gun-shy now that he is cloyingly coy and cherubic. Where is Eran Wickramaratne? This would have been the time for all of these people to step up to the plate. Even JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Or for that matter regime outliners such as SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara.
It seems all of them are cut from the same cloth. This they say is the worst crisis the country has faced since Independence. But there is nobody who is ready to step up to the plate. This is a grand indictment of our entire political class.
They have abdicated their responsibilities, and shown they have no leadership qualities. The country had diverse personalities both loved and hated such as former Minister Ranjan Wijeratne who answered the call of the Nation, and took up responsibility when the need arose.
WARTIME LEADERS
Some leaders in history, in other settings thrived purely because there was a crisis. Wartime leaders such as UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill were obvious examples. In Sri Lankan history there were the Puran Appus and the Pedrises who were above reproach in times of a national nadir.
Why do we have a generation of non-leaders? It is because of the disenchantment with the Legislature and the political class in general. The post-Independence years have seen riff-riff going into Parliament from both sides of the political divide. This has caused good people to eschew politics, or to be repulsed by politics altogether.
Is this the case in our neighbouring countries? Like them or hate them, we have had personalities such as cricket superstar and former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan emerge out of nowhere in South Asia. India has its current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He may be a somewhat polarizing figure in his own country, but has been formidable in any kind of crisis. Remember that farmers got onto the streets and protested against Premier Modi’s policies in all parts of India. A lesser leader would have withered under pressure, but PM Modi had the gumption and the charisma to see himself through.
The tentative statements being made by politicians have been rather revealing of their temperament. They have been watching the public protests and have been at pains — especially in the Opposition — to make sense of it all.
FACELESS PERSONS
Their refrain seems to be, why have we done to be ignored in this way? Trade Union veteran K.D. Lalkantha of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) lamented that there are nameless and faceless persons purporting to lead a national protest movement. At first, everyone was a little skeptical, and that is fair enough, but it soon appeared that the national protest movement is no flash in the pan.
But Lalkantha has not walked back his statements made in his bewildered state, watching someone else steal their clothes and thunder. It seems a great indictment on the performance of the JVP that at this time of crisis they are being comprehensively sidelined. They thought they could run away with the clothes of protest, so to speak. But all those hopes have now collapsed in a heap.
There were also the maverick Members of Parliament (MPs) in whom it was thought some hope could be reposed in times of crisis. But they are lost too. Even former Minister Harin Fernando seems lost. Harin and Co. seem to be revelling in the fact that these are hard times but they do not have any answers. Sometimes, it appears Fernando is genuine, but even if he is, he is no hero because he is all over the place.
What is Dr. Harsha De Silva’s credibility when all he can do at a time of crisis is to say he would have done things differently? It appears he is saying he cannot break ranks with his party, which has decided that it will play no part in an Interim Government of all parties that was proposed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
But it was his opportunity to show that he has the leadership qualities that he boasts of. Hilariously in an interview with some kind of society impresario, Danu the mustachioed talk show host, he claimed that ‘there is so much he wants to do,’ as if he has a shot at being the President of the Republic. But a vacillating, hesitant individual who is intimidated by the gravity of the situation cannot even be an effective Junior Minister, let alone be President.
REBEL GROUP
On the side of the regime, they are all at sixes and sevens as well and there are some Parliamentarians who are playing hide and seek waiting for somebody — anybody — to show them the way. They call themselves the “40 Group” of rebels.
Of course one’s sympathies are with these Members of Parliament because it seems obvious that none of them is up to the job of today. They are way out of their depth. The mass resignation of the Cabinet was the signal, if ever there was one, that there should be people who could step up to the plate raising their hand and volunteering in the crisis. But no one did.
The people are frustrated with the Parliamentarians, and see them as being incompetent and corrupt. But under the circumstances more than everything else, they see them as being ineffectual.
They have to be excused for deciding that the Legislature is comprehensively out of its depth.
It is a Legislature that is now calling for a fresh infusion of ‘talent’ en masse from outside of Parliament. If they are so ineffectual, why did not the elected Members resign, one may ask? The reason is obvious. Even though they are ineffectual, they are not bad at collecting their pay cheques at the end of the month, and enjoying all the perks of office. They are also not bad at entertaining the notion that the system will correct itself, and they would be able to go back soon to enjoying their cushy lives where they generally threw their weight about and made a few splashes.
It is not as if the governing party is home free — far from it, and though it is striving to stay relevant it appears that it would weather the storm for the moment, though there is no guarantee of it.
The Government’s detractors such as Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera have already stated that there is no real hope of unseating the Government when it comes to a test of numbers at the vote on the No Confidence Motion (NCM). The governing party has been leaderless, but has maintained the leadership status quo at the top, one reason being that there is nobody to step up to the plate, because the going has got extremely tough.
When the Speaker of Parliament, who, of course happens to be a member of the governing party states that there could be a worsening situation with food shortages in the future, it is clear that the situation is dire. Nobody of course can deny it, and nobody would, in the current dire circumstances.
This rudderless voyage can go on for a while, but the ship of State has to be righted sooner rather than later in these choppy waters. All the deckhands and the sailors are cowering and seem to be in some induced trance, perhaps wishing for divine intervention. They would be lucky to get any help from any quarter at this juncture, however— divine or worldly.
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