Ranil playing for time to save his neck

(August 29, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Though there are moves to remove Ranil Wickremesinghe from the leadership after failing again at the elections he is making covert counter-moves to remain in power, according to informed insiders. Insiders say that he has done this time and time again and he will undercut his rivals with a smile to retain the leadership of he party. An insider said that yesterday’s Working Committee meeting made some promises of reform but there was nothing strong enough to give a new image to the party to win elections.

Informed sources claim that Lakshman Seneviratne and Johnston Amaratunga had approached Wickremesinghe after consulting other MPs and pressured him to resign. The alternative proposed was to replace Wickremesinghe with Rukman Senanayake, the Chairman of the UNP. But nothing had come out of it. Wickremesinghe had taken a non-committal stand knowing that pressure is mounting against him. He is planning to put external pressure on the MPs not to go ahead with the plan.

To save his face he is claiming that his nominees to the last provincial councils election, Ma-Gen (retd) Janaka Perera and Ranjan Ramanayake who won preferential votes were brought in by him. But others point out that the UNP lost all 27 electorates despite personal victories of his two nominees.

The UNP has decided to introduce internal reforms but this does include removing Wickremesinghe from the leadership and replacing him with Rukman Senanayake. Earlier moves to remove him were postponed till after the elections. Now that the elections are over the anti-Wickremesinghe forces are raising their heads again. But Tissa Attanayake, John Ameratunga are expected to back Wickremesinghe.

Johnston Fernando has argued that more capable leaders like Rukman Senanayake, Sajith Premadasa and S. B. Dissanayake should be given a chance. The UNP reforms include appointing a deputy which Wickremesinghe had refused to fearing that the deputy will mount a campaign to oust him.

Political observers also note that Wickremesinghe knows that those opposing him are not strong enough to throw him out. He has packed the Central Committee with his men and this makes it difficult to get him out.

Yesterday’s Working Committee meeting was expected to be rebellious but it was tame. It held a post-mortem and agreed to appoint another committee to look into electoral violence. UNPers are also watching the moves of Janaka Perera. He is also hoping to be the next leader jumping over the heads of the senior party men. Privately he has expressed the view that he has more public appeal than the other UNP leaders.

One insider said: “The problem with the UNP is that there are too many chiefs and no Indians. We have a strong government and we are fighting among ourselves unable to get rid of the weakest political leader in the part’s history. I can’t see the party coming out of this mess soon.”
- Sri Lanka Guardian