Opposition’s Challenge To Government
S. Sivathasan
Bearding the Lion
Mysterious are the ways in which political strategies have moved in Sri Lanka. The opposition determined to do its duty by the people labored for long to unseat the incumbent President, perched seemingly secure in power. Weeks of effort and a day’s decisiveness have directed the country towards a new course of hope and promise. The Opposition which had evolved into a national collective of purpose weighed its strengths and weaknesses. Then it ventured for the best possible terrain and entered the very den of the lion. The collective went for one among the cherished, made it break ranks, and returned with the prize catch.
Following on successful conception are the more arduous tasks of gestation and delivery. Marked for avoidance are the risks of abortion or still birth. All the above are for six weeks. After delivery, care is needed to ward off the danger of infanticide. When showered with triumph, the mightiest challenge is to pull out the entrenched and to destroy the pernicious root and branch. The meticulously nurtured dynasty in waiting, has to go the way of the Bourbons of France and the Romanovs of Russia.
Critically Supporting The Anti-Regime Campaign
By Kalana Senaratne -November 23, 2014 |
Dr. Kalana Senaratne
It had to happen that way, and the break was only possible with a serious split within the regime. The moment had come for members of the SLFP to take the plunge. And when finally Vasantha Senanayake, MP, crossed over (the first member of the brave ‘suicide squad’) and mentioned that he knew who the common candidate was, the matter was settled. It had to be Maithripala Sirisena. And yet it was somewhat remarkable, in this day and age of unprecedented surveillance, how the opposition forces kept the regime guessing, until a couple of hours before Minister Sirisena left it. But the gates are now open; this is set to be a wonderful and exciting battle, but also a very grotesque one. So grotesque that even the Pope would feel helpless.
Sirisena-campaign
The challenge posed by Maithripala Sirisena appears to be a formidable one. His is unlike the Fonseka-campaign of 2010, for the individuals are two very different political animals, the former being a seasoned politician, a man with a following within the SLFP voters and has stood by the SLFP, and one that all parties, including the UNP, have no serious problem endorsing as a ‘common’ candidate; especially against the present regime. Fonseka was a man who could have been easily isolated, and was. Not so, Sirisena.Read More
