The UNP Must Bridge The Democracy-Deficit
Malinda Seneviratne
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, in his
celebrated novel ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ describes the signing of an agreement between two warring parties, the liberals and conservatives. Colonel Aureliano Buendia, rebel leader, is surrounded by his lawyers. The draft document is not a give-and-take agreement, but an absolute surrender. The fact is pointed out to him: ‘But Colonel, if we agree to all this, it means that all these years we have been fighting against the general sentiments of the people!’
The Colonel’s response is a classic that holds for all politics, everywhere and across history. ‘No, what it means is that from now on we will be fighting for power’.
This is the truth. Politics is about power. Rhetoric is frill. Objection on grounds of morality, unconstitutionality, illegality etc., with chest-beating words such as good governance, democracy, accountability and transparency, amounts to ‘necessary drivel’. Typically and for understandable reasons the shrill voices are to be found in opposition ranks. Given a constitution that was deliberately and heavily skewed in favor of the party in power (a document authored by persons who never thought the UNP would be defeated), which provides ample space for power-abuse and which has a scripted and debilitating effect on the opposition, that’s where dismay tends to take up residence. Read More
