What Is Ranil?
Rasika Jayakody
The question should be ‘Who is Ranil?’ some might point out. Identity, however is not only about lineage, gender, ethnicity, religion etc.; it is about ideological choices too. As important is the ‘casting’ which is produced by decision and behavior, and this is what makes the ‘what’ of the title question valid.
UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is a remnant of the Senanayake-Kotelawala-Jayewardena-Wijewardena family circle that governed post-independent Sri Lanka for more than 25 years.
He was also one of the influential members of the J.R. Jayewardena cabinet which included eminent personalities such as Lalith Athulathmudali, Gamini Dissanayake, Ronnie de Mel and Ranasinghe Premadasa.
When Sirisena Cooray was offered the premiership of the UNP government after the demise of Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993, he nominated Wickremesinghe as the most suitable candidate for the newly vacant position, taking the party’s political future into consideration. His argument was that as Leader of the House, Wickremesinghe was ‘next in line’, even though Sirisena had far greater sway in the party.
Twenty years down the line, the United National Party, which was once the largest political party in the country, has suffered nearly 25 election losses under Wickremesinghe’s leadership. The UNP head-count in Parliament has gone down drastically with a sizable proportion of UNP Parliamentarians crossing over to the government at regular intervals. There is no unity at the top level of the party and as a result of that there is confusion in the rank and file when it comes to matters of national importance. Adding to the misery, a section of parliamentarians and provincial councilors who vehemently push for internal reforms flay the party leadership at open forums causing embarrassment to those who have voted for the UNP for decades.Read More
