Six-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe is a crafty political survivor who is now the choice of the members of the Sri Lankan Parliament as its executive President when the island nation is in the grip of its worst-ever economic crisis. Having twice been defeated when he ran for President with the people as the electorate, he finds himself in the hot seat.
The beleaguered people who were opposed to him wanted him to resign as PM when he was appointed by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last May and they want him to resign now as President.
The old United National Party that he leads was decimated in the 2020 elections when it won a single seat and Ranil himself came into Parliament as a nominated member. It would be stretching things to say he can win the trust of the people. If the privation that the 22 million people of Sri Lanka have been experiencing in the wake of a collapse of foreign exchange payments system leading to a shortage of food, medicines and fuel gets any worse, the “aragalaya” (struggle) could turn against him.
The one thing that is in Ranil’s favour is his experience in government, which could come in handy as IMF negotiators may feel comfortable enough dealing with a seasoned administrator. His conciliatory tone in addressing those he defeated in the three-way presidential poll, including Dullas Alahapperuma, who broke away from Rajapaksas’ SLPP to stand as the united candidate of the Opposition parties and Sajith Premadasa, who aspires to be Prime Minister, comes as a ray of hope.
The President hardly needs to be reminded that the protesters turned on his home too, which was vandalised as a largely peaceful “aragalaya” descended into its worst forms of protest as arson and looting. How he tackles the ongoing resistance to his ascent to the presidency will shape the immediate future.
His early diktats to the Army “to do whatever was necessary” to control the protesters was not seen as too promising even if it represented a normal enough course for an administration which must first restore law and order.
Armed as he is with presidential powers under the 20th Amendment, Ranil is the one in charge even if it will be of great interest as to who he backs to be his Prime Minister. A national government might be better off with a figure from the Opposition to become PM but what the SLPP, which gave Ranil a majority of his 134 votes of 219 members of parliament, will dictate as the price of backing him is to be seen. However, Ranil will always be suspect in the people’s eyes as a “caretaker” of the combined Rajapaksa interests.
As a pro-West figure who is expected to stay the farthest from Mahinda Rajapaksa’s disastrous pro-China policies, Ranil is a familiar figure to India whose aid of food, fuel and medicines will determine how quickly Sri Lanka can get nearer normality when it comes to meeting the everyday essentials of the people.
Ranil might do well to remember he has been elected President by members of Parliament to steer the country out of a mess. The polemics and majoritarian politics of Sri Lanka can wait as the people need to be assured their basic necessities first.
