Of that non-traditional budget

A non-traditional budget they say! With a few nasty asides thrown in about it being presented by a dual citizen. Now, anyone who bothers to read what I write knows my stand on involving dual citizens in running a country run by frogs in the well. Of course, the qualifications, life experience and morals of those dual citizens matter, but not to denizens of the Pearl, methinks. At least not to the 6.9 million of them who voted this mob in. I see this as just another occasion for the Rajapaksa clan, who seem to suffer from collective Attention Deficit Syndrome, to look ‘pretty’ and try to look regal in the public eye.

The incumbent head honcho has made a veiled statement about the 6.9 million needing to look at fresh candidates, should any chance to vote arrive in the near future. Now, this statement, if analysed with probably more insight and intelligence than can be attributed to the perpetrator, could mean that certain realizations are in place. Realizations that the current system, which is entrenched in bribery, corruption and an overwhelming ‘you scratch my back and will scratch yours’ mentality, is the root cause of the predicament that the Pearl is in. If that is the realization, and I sincerely doubt it, there is a rather pathetic ring to those words. A man who started off with the intention and truly believed that he could make a difference has found out that he is simply a puppet, or is it moppet, being controlled by the ‘system’ that overwhelms everything in the Pearl. On the other hand, it can be a masterful move (again am I giving too much credit) to switch tracks and rise phoenix-like from the ashes of the despair that is affecting everyone in the Pearl at present.

The first step towards achieving this is to defeat the budget in parliament. Let me tell something to all the ‘earthworms’ who sit in that island on the Diyawanna and destroy our country each day. All those who vote to pass this litany of lies that passes for a budget, traditional or not, should be aware that they should ‘never’, ever be voted for again under any circumstances. There is talk of the JVP being the saviour in waiting. I say ‘no’ for two reasons. The obvious one being the insurgencies, but a more recent one being the JVP squandering a golden opportunity to stop Rajapaksa senior in his tracks by voting against one of the first budgets tabled at the start of this misrule. That was the time the JVP had their highest representation in parliament and rightfully the people never forgave them for that sin.

Find capable successors who have no connection with the present system. A tall order for sure. Simply bringing in people with foreign qualifications and experience is not the answer either. To govern a country democratically, the rulers should understand the grass roots and be steeped in the different cultural nuances of that land. The obvious need for integrity and moral fortitude notwithstanding, where on earth do we find such people from? That is the question on which the very future of our beloved country depends. It cannot be valued in monetary terms or in anything but the future of our children and the propagation of a 2500 plus year civilization, therefore this task is beyond all value. We need a leader with self-belief and a sterling background. The self-belief should stop short of egoism or egotism. The future leader must be incorruptible and must not give way to the adage that absolute power corrupts absolutely. For that very reason we may need to revert to the Westminster system of democracy that ensures no one has absolute power.

An insurmountable task you may say. I tend to agree. But we need to start somewhere, and this is the time for the ‘earthworms’ who have had enough, surely there ‘must’ be some in the Government ranks, to make a stand. Vote against the budget, it may still be passed but at least you would have made your stand. Like Custer in his last stand, you will probably lose your scalp, but you will go down in the history of the land as responsible politicians who had the nous to say, “enough is enough”! It is also time for a new political party. Come forward at least a dozen “good men and true”. Come forward and give us a draft constitution and a manifesto that makes sense and is different to the gobbledegook and utter rubbish that has been tabled as alternatives in the recent past.

Let’s progress into the land of fairy tales and imagine the ‘head honcho’ rounding up a few earthworms who suddenly develop a backbone (biological impossibility), defeating the budget and forming another government without his ‘secret seven’ kinsmen and other assorted idiots holding ministerial portfolios. Even if this desperate dream is realised, are there enough earthworms around who we can trust to break free of the system and build a real future for our country? The answer again is a resounding ‘no’, I believe, but strong leadership may make a difference. However, here again there is many a difference between tough talk and having the character to change a system. There is talk in recent times of catching people by the scruff of their necks, using the armed forces and implementing certain policies but the falsetto voice of the deliverer of those threats lapses when delivering them, leaving the discerning listener with certain doubts in their minds.

We need ‘new’ people. People who are capable of unrelenting, round the clock work and uncompromising morals and ethics. People with no connections to the existing system. How will such people, even if they do exist, win a democratic election? How will they convince a voter base used to voting for people who promise the greatest number of ‘freebies’ to vote for them? Another impossibility but a clear indication that our woes are created by ourselves, and the only salvation lies in changes to society and the education levels of our voters and ourselves.