A straw in the wind
Our regular columnist, Kumar David whose trenchant writing attracts attention, though not necessarily the agreement of non-aficionados, has today floated a straw in the wind suggesting a national government, or "multi-party cabinet group" as he has it, of the parties represented in the last parliament to see us through the covid-19 pandemic. Conceding that we have neither a Churchill nor an Atlee among our political leadership, he has suggested that we do the best we can with the bad lot we are burdened with. Readers will remember the war cabinet with which Churchill and his allies were able to overcome Hitler’s Nazi Germany. The war was won but Churchill was defeated in the election that followed. That is the way of the world and how democracy works. However the current war against the deadly virus is being fought globally, and not only by some countries at war with each other.
The closest we have had to a ‘national government’ was the 1965-70 administration of Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake which the then opposition branded as the hath havula because of the seven parties that it comprised of. In this country at that time there could have been no national government without the UNP and the SLFP as well as e LSSP and the CP of the old left parties getting together. That was not possible. The prime minister had the allegiance of that part of the SLFP which defected under the leadership of Mr. C.P. de Silva to topple the Sirima Bandaranaike regime of the day in which the LSSP leader, Dr. N.M. Perera, was finance minister. That forced the 1965 election which Senanayake won with C.P. de Silva fielding his own slate under the banner of the new Sri Lanka Socialist Freedom Party (SLFSP). The UNP did not oppose the candidates of the SLFSP which joined the hath havula in the Senanayake administration. De Silva took the number two position in that government.
Other members of that government included Philip Gunawardene, the so-called ‘father’ of the left movement in then Ceylon, whose party adopted the name of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) under which banner SWRD Bandaranaike won his 1956 landslide; W. Dahanayake, a political veteran from the pre-Independence days and M. Tiruchelvam of the Federal Party. Other than the main SLFP from which de Silva defected and the old left parties, all other parties were in the administration which liked to call itself a "National Government" though without sufficient justification.
David argues that while our party leaders are busy scouting out their electoral prospects, "if forced to work together will gird their loins." He concedes that though he has sometimes urged the contrary, these politicians are not altogether useless. In today’s column, this highly accomplished electrical engineers who has held coveted academic positions in Sri Lanka and Hong Kong, and remains unflinchingly loyal to his Marxist creed, says that "Gota, Mahinda, Sajith, Ranil, Sampanthan, a Muslim and Anura Kumara, if they put their shoulders to the plough can pull as a team." He suggests a National Leadership Team (War Cabinet) if it is premature to form a national government.
The people are tired of the never ending arguments about whether the last parliament be recalled or not, the advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court be invoked to decide how constitutional or not the road we are traversing, when the twice postponed next election will be held – the politicians are more concerned about this than the voters - and many more. The State Intelligence Service yesterday claimed that the situation is totally under control. Whether it will be believed or not is another matter. If the situation was totally under control, (can something as devastating as this disaster be totally under control until a vaccine against the virus is found?), why then was the previously announced relaxation of the curfew in the densely populated and economically vital Western Province further extended. It is freely conceded that in a situation like this, inelastic decision making is impossible. It all depends on the existent ground situation which is changeable by the hour.
Prime time television news programs every day feature the hardships of people scrambling to collect the Rs. 5,000 dole, angry protests and heartbreaking stories. The government has resorted to the printing press and many billion rupees of new money has been released into circulation. This would mean more inflation and erosion the people’s savings. Daily paid workers and the self-employed earning just enough for the day are in a terrible predicament. They have no savings to fall back on or any other relief. Limited credit from the neighbourhood kadays may be available but the boutique keeper charges often exorbitant interest on credit balances. The old credo that there is no free lunch may be worn threadbare but it is nevertheless true. Obviously the lockdown cannot continue indefinitely in a poor country like ours. The economic consequences for ordinary people and the country itself at macro level is frightening. Yet it is not possible to flush down the toilet what has been gained since the restrictions began without risking a worse situation.
Political squabbling and jockeying for advantage is a ‘no no’ at this point of time. So can we not present a united front to an unprecedented challenge in the manner advocated by Prof. David?
Our regular columnist, Kumar David whose trenchant writing attracts attention, though not necessarily the agreement of non-aficionados, has today floated a straw in the wind suggesting a national government, or "multi-party cabinet group" as he has it, of the parties represented in the last parliament to see us through the covid-19 pandemic. Conceding that we have neither a Churchill nor an Atlee among our political leadership, he has suggested that we do the best we can with the bad lot we are burdened with. Readers will remember the war cabinet with which Churchill and his allies were able to overcome Hitler’s Nazi Germany. The war was won but Churchill was defeated in the election that followed. That is the way of the world and how democracy works. However the current war against the deadly virus is being fought globally, and not only by some countries at war with each other.
The closest we have had to a ‘national government’ was the 1965-70 administration of Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake which the then opposition branded as the hath havula because of the seven parties that it comprised of. In this country at that time there could have been no national government without the UNP and the SLFP as well as e LSSP and the CP of the old left parties getting together. That was not possible. The prime minister had the allegiance of that part of the SLFP which defected under the leadership of Mr. C.P. de Silva to topple the Sirima Bandaranaike regime of the day in which the LSSP leader, Dr. N.M. Perera, was finance minister. That forced the 1965 election which Senanayake won with C.P. de Silva fielding his own slate under the banner of the new Sri Lanka Socialist Freedom Party (SLFSP). The UNP did not oppose the candidates of the SLFSP which joined the hath havula in the Senanayake administration. De Silva took the number two position in that government.
Other members of that government included Philip Gunawardene, the so-called ‘father’ of the left movement in then Ceylon, whose party adopted the name of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) under which banner SWRD Bandaranaike won his 1956 landslide; W. Dahanayake, a political veteran from the pre-Independence days and M. Tiruchelvam of the Federal Party. Other than the main SLFP from which de Silva defected and the old left parties, all other parties were in the administration which liked to call itself a "National Government" though without sufficient justification.
David argues that while our party leaders are busy scouting out their electoral prospects, "if forced to work together will gird their loins." He concedes that though he has sometimes urged the contrary, these politicians are not altogether useless. In today’s column, this highly accomplished electrical engineers who has held coveted academic positions in Sri Lanka and Hong Kong, and remains unflinchingly loyal to his Marxist creed, says that "Gota, Mahinda, Sajith, Ranil, Sampanthan, a Muslim and Anura Kumara, if they put their shoulders to the plough can pull as a team." He suggests a National Leadership Team (War Cabinet) if it is premature to form a national government.
The people are tired of the never ending arguments about whether the last parliament be recalled or not, the advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court be invoked to decide how constitutional or not the road we are traversing, when the twice postponed next election will be held – the politicians are more concerned about this than the voters - and many more. The State Intelligence Service yesterday claimed that the situation is totally under control. Whether it will be believed or not is another matter. If the situation was totally under control, (can something as devastating as this disaster be totally under control until a vaccine against the virus is found?), why then was the previously announced relaxation of the curfew in the densely populated and economically vital Western Province further extended. It is freely conceded that in a situation like this, inelastic decision making is impossible. It all depends on the existent ground situation which is changeable by the hour.
Prime time television news programs every day feature the hardships of people scrambling to collect the Rs. 5,000 dole, angry protests and heartbreaking stories. The government has resorted to the printing press and many billion rupees of new money has been released into circulation. This would mean more inflation and erosion the people’s savings. Daily paid workers and the self-employed earning just enough for the day are in a terrible predicament. They have no savings to fall back on or any other relief. Limited credit from the neighbourhood kadays may be available but the boutique keeper charges often exorbitant interest on credit balances. The old credo that there is no free lunch may be worn threadbare but it is nevertheless true. Obviously the lockdown cannot continue indefinitely in a poor country like ours. The economic consequences for ordinary people and the country itself at macro level is frightening. Yet it is not possible to flush down the toilet what has been gained since the restrictions began without risking a worse situation.
Political squabbling and jockeying for advantage is a ‘no no’ at this point of time. So can we not present a united front to an unprecedented challenge in the manner advocated by Prof. David?
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