The King Is Dead. Long Live The King

By Saliya Pieris –September 6, 2015 

Saliya Pieris

“The King is dead. Long live the King.” In Britain the passing away of the old monarch and the advent of the new, is heralded by these words. In Sri Lanka, Wijithamuni Zoysa, Member of Parliament, echoed these same thoughts, in somewhat cruder terms in his infamous “Appachchi Mala” speech.

After the Parliamentary Elections, the speed at which scores of Parliamentarians from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party switched their allegiance from the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to President Maithripala Sirisena marks a new low even for politicians in Sri Lanka. Gone are the days when politicians at least kept a decent interval and in the very least offered some excuse when switching sides. Today no interval is necessary and no excuse offered.

The Surrender Of The Rajapaksa Camp 

As for President Sirisena, he has now regained substantial control over the machinery of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which perhaps just over a month ago had side-lined him or as some claim was on the verge of removing him as party leader. The day was saved only by an order from the District Court.

Hours after the Parliamentary election it was clear that many of those who were on the Rajapaksa camp including Susil Premajayanth and Anura Priyadarshana Yapa had raised the white flag of surrender. So complete is the surrender that they have accepted ministerial office from the very President who just weeks ago suspended them from their Secretary posts.                    Read More