Operation successful but patient died

JVP spokesman, Mr. Wimal Weerawansa addressing a public rally at Ambalantota has proclaimed that they had performed a successful ‘by-pass surgery’ on the PA and cured it of a chronic disease. The Island is however constrained to point out that this appears to be another instance of ‘Operation being successful but patient having died’. Thirty days after the JVP ‘by-pass’ the patient died of surgical misadventure caused by multiple complications resulting from the by-pass surgery.

Mr. Bandula Gunawardena of the MEP who crossed over to the Opposition revealed that the JVP ‘by-pass’ was one of the reasons for the collapse. The PA leadership, he said, had not acted on demands made earlier by PA members such as reducing the number of cabinet ministers and the abolition of the executive presidency but when the JVP made those same demands, the PA leadership had caved in for the sake of survival.

The JVP’s attempts to rescue the PA patient have had adverse effects on the family itself-bankruptcy staring in the face of the government. The IMF and other lending agencies have not taken kindly to the largesse thrown about by the PA government before the elections such as writing off farmers’ loans amounting to millions. In addition, the PA on its own has gone on a spending spree in the form of salary hikes for government employees and pension hikes while lowering the defence levy and the abolition of the diesel tax which would drain the government coffers to the tune of Rs. 11 billion this year and another Rs. 44 billion next year. In view of this political profligacy loans pledged to the government by the IMF and bi-lateral donor agencies totalling to Rs. 800 million had been withheld.

These are some of the adverse fall outs of the unorthodox form of a ‘government under probation’ or in other words, a government under blackmail, which the JVP attempted to keep alive. The JVP today claims many noble objectives behind this move but it is quite apparent that both for the JVP as well as the PA it was a matter of political expediency. The PA government of Chandrika Kumaratunga, having lost its parliamentary majority wanted to survive at any cost and the JVP wanted to gain political mileage by demonstrating to the electorate that they, with a mere ten seats could make the government with more than a 100 seats dance to their own tune. It was a bizarre form of government that could not last long.

The JVP foray, however, demonstrated that political leaders could take decisions which the public has been demanding and would be of benefit to the country, if there was a political will to do so. The numbers of ministers, deputy ministers (and earlier project ministers) kept on bulging from the days of President Ranasinghe Premadasa who feared defection of MPs from his party. The idea was to keep the MPs in clover-duty free vehicles, subsidised meals and accommodation, platoons of security guards, progressive salary hikes, increased pensions etc. so that no MP, not even of the opposition, would like to make a government collapse and risk facing another election immediately. President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s cabinet reached a record number of 46 but following demands of the JVP it was possible to bring it round to 20.

The enactment of the 17th Amendment is yet another example of what could be done if there is a political will. The 17th Amendment that has conferred much greater powers on the Commissioner of Elections to conduct the forthcoming elections could help eradicate much of the glaring election malpractices witnessed in recent times. The UNP will claim credit for proposing the amendment, the PA will say they moved it in parliament and the JVP will claim that it was possible only because of the memorandum of understanding with the PA. Being the governing party it was the responsibility of the PA to have enacted this far-reaching amendment but it was not politically expedient to do so. But with the JVP sword hanging over their heads it was more politically expedient to give in to the 17th Amendment and try to do what it can at the forthcoming elections than have the government defeated in parliament.

The proportional system of voting and existing party loyalties result in no party getting a clear cut victory and make political expediency come to the fore as against principled politics. The JVP, the newly formed Tamil Alliance and the SLMC could become the king-makers in the December 5 elections and this could result in many horse deals as well as by-pass surgeries.

In these circumstances what the voters can do is to back a party that has a chance of getting a clear majority to form a government.

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