With malice towards none

By Jatila Karawita

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake who is set to complete five decades in mainstream politics on 19 March says the secret of his longevity as a politician is the deeply religious route taken as a devout Buddhist. Consuming nutritious food and looking after his health have also helped. Focusing on the current political climate, he maintained that the onus was on the people to decide if the UPFA should be returned to parliament with a two-thirds majority.
Wickremanayake, 76, who has completed two tenures as prime minister of two SLFP-led governments, insisted that the president irrespective of whether he obtains a majority in parliament or not, will not renege on his promise to provide a permanent solution to the ethnic issue after the general election, 08 April. Excerpts:

What is the secret of your success as a politician while being on the threshold of completing 50 years in mainstream politics?

I think you need to ask my wife about it (laughs). But, honestly I think it is the daily routine I’ve practised, when it comes to my religious upbringing. You know, I meditate whenever time permits and of course looking after my health especially in the food that I consume, exercising and keeping a purified mind all the time with no hatred or malice to any living being... guess all these things have combined to keep me in shape and going strong closing in on my 50 year career span as a politician.

What sort of memories do you have of your experiences in past parliaments as one of the country’s senior most politicians?

The recent parliaments pale into insignificance when compared to the august assemblies I’ve been a part of. The main reason being the way MPs were selected. MPs were chosen from electorates sans a dog-fight over preferential votes. The people in the electorate knew who came forward to contest - they were of a squeaky clean image. In my electorate - Horana, people with distinguished backgrounds were always sent to the legislature. Nowadays there is a mad scramble for preference votes in the district. It has come to a stage where even family members consider it a matter of life and death in their eagerness to enter parliament. This phenomenon was not prevalent in the days of yore.

What prompted you to enter politics while being a barrister at law in Britain?

Not in my wildest dreams had I envisioned a career in local politics at that time - the late 1950s. I returned home from England, without even being able to sit for the final barrister’s exam, following the death of my elder brother Munidasa who represented the SLFP parliamentary seat of Horana. The monks and politicians of the area virtually implored me to step in to fill that vacancy. I promptly agreed.

Would the president be compelled to reduce the jumbo cabinet given the current political scenario where crossovers are the norm?

Well that is solely the discretion of the president and I have no clout on the matter. The president has stated that he is keen to reduce the cabinet to a working structure. He should be able to do that as there is no solid opposition for any disgruntled elements to jump ship. The opposition is in a veritable pickle right now.

The opposition is charging that the UPFA is currently on a vain attempt to regain lost popularity by coaxing sports and movie stars to enter parliament.

Is there a big deal in inviting such people into parliament? Is parliament meant only to be patronized by people of our calibre and not by the new generation of artistes, academics, doctors, sports stars etc.? Our political culture must change and I am happy the UPFA has taken the lead on that.