President says he is firm on abolishing the executive presidency

January 21, 2016

It was a Sunday afternoon, and the 64-year-old Maithripala Sirisena was in no mood to relax. He had a series of meetings earlier. After his appointment with Frontline in a hall of his official residence sporting the portraits of Marx, Lenin and Mahatma Gandhi, the President had some more meetings scheduled for the day. He appeared relaxed during his interaction with this correspondent, which was originally meant to be brief but lasted nearly one hour. Excerpts from the interview.

How would you rate your performance in the last one year—good, very good, excellent?

[Smiles] Very good.

Have you finished what you had planned to do in the first year of your term?

No. But I have begun to carry out. It [last year] was the entry point.

Has your relationship with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was in the rival camp until November 2014, grown closer? How do you feel about working with him?

Very close. [I am] extremely satisfied.

What is your response to the criticism that a number of amendments made to the 2016 Budget have revealed that the United National Party (UNP)-Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) coalition government is not functioning cohesively?

It was a very good Budget. The proposals were excellent. The criticism arose when concessions to public servants and people of the country were reduced. If these [the concessions] are withdrawn, we need to inform the people in advance and explain why we are taking them back. In this instance, the people were not properly informed. That was our fault. This was why we had to make certain changes.

Do you still fear that you might be toppled? Over a period of eight months you made repeated references to “counter-revolutions” and conspiracies.

Conspiracy is not the term that I would use. Some people had expectations that they could topple my government. The way the Budget was passed by the parliament during the second reading and the third reading clearly showed the strength of the government. Now, they have lost their hopes [of ousting the government].                                                    MORE...