THIS IS IT
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]‘Politics is the art of postponing decisions until they are no longer relevant’ [/FONT][FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]- Henri Queuille, three times prime minister of France[/FONT]
If there was any antipathy towards the candidacy of General Sarath Fonseka much of that was dissipated on Thursday evening when the whole country watched how goons of Mervyn Silva jeered and hooted at the Chief Defence of Staff.
Certainly not every one will vote for the former Army Commander if he decides to contest polls but the fact remains even an overwhelming majority of those who are against his entry to politics would not tolerate the sight of hired goons poking fun at the man who led the forces and brought peace to the country after a quarter century.
And there would have been a lot converts to Fonseka, in their thousands if not hundred thousands, after the antics by the clown minister.
The Army personnel who provided security to the CDS should be commended for the restraint they exercised in the face of despicable provocations by a group of drunkards – both men and women. The media that were there at the Kelaniya Temple by the time of the incident said given the unruly behaviour and the nature of deriding slogans chanted by the hired group there was every possibility of a clash.
While prices reductions and many other recent government moves have been attributed to Fonseka factor, the Kelaniya protest went to confirm the doubts anybody would have had of the fears that have gripped the government over a possible candidacy of General Fonseka.
It goes without saying that he is going to be a formidable candidate and the novelty he had added to the political scene has ensured him the lion’s share of media attention at least for the time being. He certainly is on an ascending curve. President Rajapaksa who is in the peak of his popularity has to play his cards extremely well in order to face the new challenge and avoid a decline in popularity. However, doubts have started casting on his ability to do so especially after yesterday’s incident at Kelaniya which stunned the country.
It goes without saying that nobody would be able to stop a Fonseka victory at polls if government resorts to this type of cheap, puerile tactics by employing people like Mervyn Silva to counter the former Army Commander.
Fonseka, though lacks finesse and diplomacy, appears to be learning the ropes and his interaction with media at the temple proved this point further. Also the contents of his letter speak of plans of a long journey ahead though a few eye brows would have raised when reading his concerns over the curtailed media rights and the plight of the IDPs. Being dubbed an ultra nationalist for calling Sri Lanka a country only belonged to Sinhalese, a few months ago, his latest reference to the need to win the ‘hearts and minds of the Tamil people’ is largely seen as an attempt to woo the TNA and through it, the Tamil civilians.
Sarath Fonseka, the politician has arrived. The UPFA government appears to be lacking any sophisticated strategy to take him head-on.
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]‘Politics is the art of postponing decisions until they are no longer relevant’ [/FONT][FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]- Henri Queuille, three times prime minister of France[/FONT]
If there was any antipathy towards the candidacy of General Sarath Fonseka much of that was dissipated on Thursday evening when the whole country watched how goons of Mervyn Silva jeered and hooted at the Chief Defence of Staff.
Certainly not every one will vote for the former Army Commander if he decides to contest polls but the fact remains even an overwhelming majority of those who are against his entry to politics would not tolerate the sight of hired goons poking fun at the man who led the forces and brought peace to the country after a quarter century.
And there would have been a lot converts to Fonseka, in their thousands if not hundred thousands, after the antics by the clown minister.
The Army personnel who provided security to the CDS should be commended for the restraint they exercised in the face of despicable provocations by a group of drunkards – both men and women. The media that were there at the Kelaniya Temple by the time of the incident said given the unruly behaviour and the nature of deriding slogans chanted by the hired group there was every possibility of a clash.
While prices reductions and many other recent government moves have been attributed to Fonseka factor, the Kelaniya protest went to confirm the doubts anybody would have had of the fears that have gripped the government over a possible candidacy of General Fonseka.
It goes without saying that he is going to be a formidable candidate and the novelty he had added to the political scene has ensured him the lion’s share of media attention at least for the time being. He certainly is on an ascending curve. President Rajapaksa who is in the peak of his popularity has to play his cards extremely well in order to face the new challenge and avoid a decline in popularity. However, doubts have started casting on his ability to do so especially after yesterday’s incident at Kelaniya which stunned the country.
It goes without saying that nobody would be able to stop a Fonseka victory at polls if government resorts to this type of cheap, puerile tactics by employing people like Mervyn Silva to counter the former Army Commander.
Fonseka, though lacks finesse and diplomacy, appears to be learning the ropes and his interaction with media at the temple proved this point further. Also the contents of his letter speak of plans of a long journey ahead though a few eye brows would have raised when reading his concerns over the curtailed media rights and the plight of the IDPs. Being dubbed an ultra nationalist for calling Sri Lanka a country only belonged to Sinhalese, a few months ago, his latest reference to the need to win the ‘hearts and minds of the Tamil people’ is largely seen as an attempt to woo the TNA and through it, the Tamil civilians.
Sarath Fonseka, the politician has arrived. The UPFA government appears to be lacking any sophisticated strategy to take him head-on.
