How much does experience matter?

“The best example of an international politician with little experience in governance is none other than the American President Barack Obama. His lack of experience was hammered at during the Democratic Party primaries as well as in the presidential race but was overlooked by American voters, who elected him, the first black president in American history.”
...........................................................................

By Gamini Weerakoon

(December 07, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) This is the time for superlatives. Who is ‘the best,’ ‘the greatest,’ ‘most heroic leader,’ ‘the saviour of the nation,’ ‘the man with foresight and vision,’ and ‘the most experienced man who can lead the nation’? Read the state-controlled newspapers and listen to state TV and radio and you will know who this personage is.

The Daily News, we must admit, has a sense of humour. We choked over our morning cup of tea the other day reading the headline: “Media must not be partial – President.” Some do develop what is termed Nelsonian vision in these exciting times.

Of grannies and mummies

Last week our old friend S.L. Gunasekera spun an analogy round the Sinhala joke about presenting a young daughter to a prospective bridegroom but producing a cockeyed older sister for marriage on wedding day. Gunasekera held that presenting General Fonseka as common opposition candidate was even worse. It was like presenting the grandmother instead of the prospective bride, he said. Gunasekera should recall that a mother – though not a grandmother – was chosen as a common opposition candidate for the United Front of the SLFP and Marxist parties in the ’60s, and that she led the alliance to a stupendous victory.

Last week at a popular water hole a Fonseka defender argued that presenting Grandma Fonseka was called for because the prospective bride was so cantankerous, opinionated, obstreperous and could be a disaster for the country.

At the start of the campaign Fonseka is facing a barrage of heavy artillery fire. The state media, TV and radio are blasting him irrespective of President Rajapaksa’s call for ‘impartiality’ of the media. Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake too last week went through the exercises of flexing his weak and tender muscles against partial coverage of the election campaign by a muscular state media. We have seen his performance on previous election campaigns and will not comment further on his ability to control the state media.

Experience wanted?

Much is being made about Fonseka having no experience in politics or governance and being a military man all his life. There is much journalistic punditry about his lack of experience in governance as opposed to the President’s “40 years experience in politics.” While political leaders taking the helm are expected to have experience in governance, it has to be said that the SLFP should be the last party to claim that political experience and experience in governance is absolutely necessary.

Sirima Bandaranaike became the world’s first woman prime minister by walking straight from the kitchen to the prime minister’s chair. She proved to be quite a formidable political leader and prime minister. Her strength, it is said, was that she had no pretensions about her knowledge of politics and government. She listened to her advisers and took firm decisions on her own. She became a formidable international leader – as leader of the Non-Aligned Movement – and earned the fear, respect and regard of various nations. In Sri Lankan politics she governed with Marxist intellectual giants such as N.M. Perera, Pieter Keuneman, Bernard Soysa in her cabinet. Previous political experience was not an absolute requirement for leadership, as she showed the world.

Chandrika Kumaratunga too had no previous experience in governance when elected prime minister and later president. She learned much about politics from being immersed in it from her cradle and proved quite adept in snatching the leadership of the SLFP from her brother Anura and his lieutenant at that time, Mahinda Rajapaksa. She was helped to power by an assortment of characters, but on acquiring the powers of the executive presidency she simply told her hangers-on such as journalists of the Free Media Movement where and when to get off her wagon. There was more non-governance than governance during her time.

History

Only a few Sri Lankan political leaders had experience before they became heads of state. The first prime minister, DS, had plenty of it, having negotiated with the British for independence for long years, drafting the constitution and being able to form a party and government comprising members of diverse races and religions. His son Dudley who followed him had very little experience as prime minister when he became premier for the first time, and fell foul of political machinations within his party.

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike had long experience in politics but little experience in governance. His brief reign of two years was chaotic, to say the least, and ended in his assassination, which was attributed to the chaos he set in motion.

W. Dahanayake, who followed him, was described as an ‘ inexperienced eccentric.’ J.R. Jayewardene was the most experienced, and he set in motion government by his party for 18 continuous years, the merits and demerits of which are still debated.

President Premadasa had more than enough experience, but he faced very rough times. President D.B. Wijetunge ruled well during his brief tenure in office and interfered least with government. He showed that the country really need not have a president. The only military man of sorts was Sir John Kotelawala, a retired officer of the Ceylon Light Infantry. He did have much experience in politics by the time he became prime minister but his candid attitude towards politics ensured his early exit.

Obama

The best example of an international politician with little experience in governance is none other than the American President Barack Obama. His lack of experience was hammered at during the Democratic Party primaries as well as in the presidential race but was overlooked by American voters, who elected him, the first black president in American history.

Thus the lack of experience in governance should not be a bar to presidency. While those without any previous experience have been successful heads of state it does not necessarily mean that Fonseka will succeed in his tasks, but it does underscore the fact that he is not disqualified from running for presidency. On the other hand, politicians with experience both here and abroad who have been elected as president or prime ministers have been unceremoniously dumped in their final runs by their electors. It will ultimately be the individual and not the experience or inexperience that counts.

-Sri Lanka Guardian