Two-Year Scorecard For Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Combo
By Vishwamithra1984 –August 10, 2016
“Life only demands from you the strength that you possess. Only one feat is possible; not to run away” ~ Dag Hammarskjold
It’s not yet two full years, yet close enough. And close enough for us to pass our verdict on theSirisena–Wickremesinghe Combo that is holding reins in Sri Lanka’s polity today. Passing judgment on performance on the political field is hard enough, yet the appetite for judgment shown by the masses and so-called intelligentsia might propel one to that inevitably dangerous haste: ‘rush to judgment’, and if wrongfully arrived at, may lead more to the peril of the judge than those who are judged.
Ascending to power on the backs of a voter who was yearning for a better organism of governance, a brighter scope of future and a more equal sense of justice, the weight that imposes on the Combo of Sirisena-Wickremesinghe is undeniably heavier than one would ascertain. But the burden of that ‘Cross’ should not retard the swift stride that they had pledged to undertake at the Hustings, nor should they begrudge its unusual weight. The burden of leadership is exceptionally weighty and they and they alone should carry that burden. No passing of the buck should be welcome. The ordinary folks would not render any leverage in favor of the carrier, for that burden was not placed on them, Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Combo, by the ordinary man or woman. It was sought after and placed on their shoulders by the carriers themselves. They should have realized the short and long-term effects, the incredible faith and trust that are inherent in the responsibility of leadership of a nation.
The luxury and extravagance of political power carries within itself a much more uplifting and awesome quality of responsibility. Those who cared only about the luxuries of power and the natural magnetism to it from the susceptible voter, those who disregarded the supreme sacrifices one had to make in order to be at the helm, would eventually be punished, without mercy, by the voter at the elections. Yet as demonstrated during the past decade when the Rajapaksas held those reins, they took it for granted that that power, instead of being of utterly fleeting nature, granted them a warrant to preside over the whole gamut of Sri Lankan polity. An umpteen number of unforced errors committed by them ultimately swamped them into a comfort zone from which they could not extricate themselves. A tragic political dynamic took over the persona of the regime and the more corrupt elements of that coalition got attracted to the center that was the First Family.
