Clobbering the captain won’t do!

By Gamini Weerakoon

(March 29, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Whether UNP 'rebels' decided not to change their captain for logical reasons or for the lack of options is hard to say but in hindsight it could be said that it was a decision taken in the long term interests of the grand old party.

Logic is not the forte of Sri Lankan political parties - not even the UNP - and presumably it was the lack of any other option. 'Fire the captain' is the popular cry in politics as well as in sports but is not always the answer to defeats suffered. Ranil Wickremesinghe, no doubt has led the party to many defeats but was he the prime cause?

In politics when leaders don't produce results they do not last long at the top. But Wickremesinghe has lasted. The reason is obvious. There is none to challenge him on his own strength and replace him.

If Wickremesinghe was thrown out as some 'rebels' wanted, who could have replaced him? Karu Jayasuriya, the former highly successful chairman of a leading trading company, plainly does not have 'fire in his belly' for that kind of fight. He openly confessed: 'I will not enter a contest for leadership.'

The other runner was Sajith Premadasa who shows potential as a leader but it is quite obvious that he has miles and miles to go before attempting to become the leader of the UNP. He still lacks charisma for national leadership as is evident from his lacklustre performances at elections.

The third aspirant was S.B. Dissanayake, a communist in his younger days who hitched his star to Chandrika Kumaratunga and then jumped over to the UNP when the going was not good. This is a man in a hurry. A jack-in-the-box whose impetuousness resulted in him landing in jail - really much of the time at the Merchants' Ward - on a charge of contempt of the Supreme Court. He did have an impressive performance at the recent Central Provincial Council elections but is that enough for leadership of a national party?

Chaos

Had it been decided to kick Wickremesinghe upstairs as an elder statesman and have a triumvirate to lead the party, chaos would have resulted with bitter infighting going on for leadership.ÿ A question for all UNPers to ponder about is: Why are there no emerging fresh young politicians with original ideas surfacing in the UNP?

Are the Sri Lankan middle class and intelligentsia sick of politics and left politics for the hoi polloi? A recent exception is Ruwan Wijewardene, a British graduate who is contesting a seat in the Western Provincial Council for Gampaha. Wijewardene is a grandson of Lake House founder the legendary D.R. Wijewardene and is a direct descendant of the Senanayakes as well.

Velupillai Pirapaharan contributed much to the prevailing state of affairs. He not only eliminated the democratic mainstream of Tamil politicians but also decimated the UNP leadership. One of the few survivors is Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Pirapaharan has also killed outstanding military heroes who aspired to enter politics such as Lucky Algama and Janaka Perera. Algama played a key role in clearing the Eastern Province during President D.B. Wijetunge's tenure after which Chandrika virtually let the LTTE walk back into captured territory. Janaka Perera had a national image and could have been in the front ranks of the UNP as was seen by the preferential votes he polled in his first ever appearance.

National image

What those who are attempting to take over the leadership of the party should consider is whether they have a national image to lead a party. Ancestry or being known in a province is not enough. Nor is it that popularity within the party could push one to the front ranks. It is not sufficient to win a nationwide election.

The UNP today has Rukman Senanayake who entered parliament in the 1970s after the death of his uncle Dudley Senanayake in a hard fought election at a time when the party had only 18 seats in parliament. Rukman too is a reluctant contender who plays politics according to Westminster rules. But politics today is not played according to rules and conventions of the British parliament.

Credibility

The other obvious requirements for a UNP leader are credibility and a good reputation for clean politics. The UNP in its long history has had very few 'crossers-over' and 'double crossers' certainly did not survive. Those like S.B. Dissanayake whoÿwhen under the SLFP flag spared no words to blast UNP principles now becoming patron saints of the party would not add either to their own credibility or that of the party.

It would also be vital if potential leaders declare their assets publicly. Today, there are political 'stars' on the horizon who flaunt wealth with no visible means of income. Nor have some of their illustrious fathers ever done a job in their lives while their sons have turned out to be philanthropists. Distributing largesse is good but people must know where it has come from. There are those who have explained their wealth on the dowries their sons have acquired!

Blame not only the captain

The UNP needs not only a leader but a fresh crop of leaders. New contestants such as Gen. Janaka Perera and 'One Shot' Ramanayake won a record number of manapays in their first appearance on UNP tickets. Why haven't the veteran 'rebels' been able to do so? Apparently not only the 'captain' but the rest of the players have not been doing well.

Meanwhile it will be the task of the 'Captain' to clobber together a capable team to win votes and not those who clobber him.

-Sri Lanka Guardian