MR’s comeback circus

I grieve for our people, for their lack of self-worth and for the lack of understanding of what a slippery slope we are standing on. We have slipped far enough, but I don’t think we have reached rock bottom yet.If Mahinda wants to come back, it is his folly. Maybe at some point of time wisdom might dawn on him and he might decide to retire from active politics and be the elder statesman he could be. If he does so, he might regain some of his lost stature. It may not be an easy task as he has lost so much, but he should try.

The deep economic crisis we are in is very much with us. It has not gone away though a little patchwork has been attempted here and there. This is what we call es bandhun in Sinhala. Were all those up on stage welcoming Mahinda back saying that under his leadership we can take the country forward. Are they born again?

It is not as though this economic crisis is a past event. We are living through it today, tomorrow and for a few more years to come. Each woman, man or child in that crowd that was before him would be suffering or have suffered and will suffer from this economic crisis we’re mired in. Those addressing the crowd are the architects of this crisis and there is no doubt about their guilt. Their many acts of overreach cover a lot of ground – bad investments, stupid tax concessions, bad loans, wrong policy decisions like the fertilizer fiasco etc. All these are well documented and well-known for the average person not to be aware of them or deny the reality.

In such a context, it was sad to see so many people singing hosannas and cheering Mahinda on as though those on the platform had no hand in the plight we are in. The Pohottuwa on its withering stalk should have the decency, or the sense and sensibility to delay such circuses till some semblance of economic recovery is visible. Having such events show a lack of awareness of where we are today.

Padmini Nanayakkara,Kollupitiya