Vacancy Notice For A New (Girl) Friend
“You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit.” ~ Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)
In the philosophical novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Irish poet, writer, dramatist and journalist Oscar Wilde, Dorian Gray, a wealthy gentleman with unparalleled physical beauty is painted by an artist called Basil Hallward. This portrait is kept in an attic, hidden, and in exchange to the physical ageing of Dorian Gray, the picture ages and manifests in itself the sins of Dorian Gray. Dorian Gray lives an ever youthful hedonistic life of depravity and sin and finally conscience stricken and alone he stabs the picture into destruction. The picture then appears ever beautiful whereas an aged, distorted man is found dead at the feet of the picture of Dorian Gray.
Ranil: the Dorian Gray of politics
Ranil is the Dorian Gray of Sri Lankan politics. He remains unfazed, re-inventing survival tactic, rejuvenating with each strategic victory. Based on a logic fully comprehended, perhaps only by himself, he is single mindedly presiding over the largest singular democratic political party of Sri Lanka and attempts to uphold liberal democracy. Like Dorian Gray his outward demeanor and survival does not show significant degeneration. However in the UNP attic, politics is putrefying, much like the picture of Dorian Gray.
It has been the political destiny of Ranil to self-annihilate his own political potential for leading the country to the future in exchange to retaining his power within the UNP. The microorganisms who have dedicated their puny lives for the political destruction of Ranil such as Sajith Premadasa, Shiral Lakthilaka, Maithri Gunaratne, Palitha Range Bandara, Sirasa Media Network, Palitha Thewarapperuma et al, in their restricted amoebic world view do not recognize that Ranil, just like them is a man seeking soul’s security.
It has been thirty years since there was a UNP cabinet under a UNP government. There appears to be no one who genuinely looks at Ranil’s political upheaval with kind eyes. In his every waking moment Ranil is probably facing indescribable political and psychological conflict and complexity. Perhaps Ranil himself is not able to verbally articulate his inner dilemma. The more isolation one encumbers Ranil with, the more he will react like any other human being who is facing isolation. He will enclose himself with a few he believes to be his trusted allies to validate his existence and decisions.
The moral duplicity of the UNP
Those who expect political demi-Godhood from Ranil should first recognize his humanness. Those who expect renouncement, fairness, philosophical-ness and uprightness from Ranil should first stand in front of a mirror and take a good look at themselves. Whether man or political demi-God, the thick pals Ranil brings to the high table for political decision making have little distinction from the men who have for decades plotting his political annihilation. His political blood brothers are in fact political parasites feeding on Ranil’s political currency and isolation to feed their nourishment to the point of their political obesity. They are a central cause of isolation of Ranil from the people and democracy. The number one victims of this moral erosion are the women of this country constituting 52% of the population.
Like Arjuna at Kurukshethra, Ranil is entangled in fighting his power battle within the UNP and in the post No-Confidence Motion (NCM) phase. The NCM brought against the Prime Minister representing the premier party of the country was defeated amidst political hullabaloo. Ranil has re-emerged driving home the reality that he has mastered the art of outliving his political opponents and managed to re-establish himself within the party like a cat with more than nine lives, promising party reforms. If he does not include the empowerment of women in to those reforms, it will be the moral failure and moral duplicity of Ranil who is elected by the votes of women as well. He should rise up to the challenge of finding some female political friends who can have an intelligent conversation about the future vision of Sri Lanka, and who are not mere servants of politics.
Wanted: a new (girl) friend
If Ranil truly believes liberal democracy he should act on his conceptual beliefs at this crucial juncture. He should appoint a woman as the General Secretary of the UNP. The misuse of women in Sri Lankan politics is a topic for another day. Their utility is largely limited to begging for votes door to door , making tea, serving biscuits, performing welcome dances, holding candles by the side of traditional oil lamps, ushering guests and being used as fillers in political rallies and walks. This is largely the fate of women outside dynastic politics of Sri Lanka. Even within the rightwing liberal democratic UNP, the role of majority of women is pitiful.
It is reported that Ranil is planning to appoint his sidekick Akila Viraj Kariyawasam as the new General Secretary of the UNP as a part of the promised reforms, replacing Kabir Hashim. Akila Viraj Kariyawsam is a well-established, somewhat fearless minister of the government. There are no reported allegations of corruption against him. Apart from the fact that he believes that mothers of Kurunegala district who hug their sons to sleep end up having sexual intercourse them, justifying the separation of a child from an HIV positive mother, there seems to be no other problem with his liberal views either! The country, Ranil or the UNP don’t stand to gain much in the long run from political pets who have no insight in to human existence, depth or its magic.
