By

Vishnugupta

“Desperation is sometimes as powerful an inspirer as genius.”–Benjamin Disraeli

Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaranatunga reigned with unbridled power and might for eleven years, first as Prime Minister and then as Executive President. For all those years in office, the only remarkable achievement she could probably write home about or even relate to her grandchildren one day would be that she never ever kept an appointment in time.

An utterly careless leader of a nation, even though she possessed an extraordinary intellect and scholarly disposition, there isn’t one single accomplishment that she could boast about. It is indeed a crying shame for a person who hailed from such an illustrious family, which spanned the country’s political landscape for more than one and half centuries, beginning from the Legislative Council days to the current Presidential system era.

In a larger context, all the Bandaranaikes – all three, SWRD, Sirimavo and Chandrika- have been mediocre executives at best and disastrous at worst. Although they had nearly inborn capacity and talent to win elections, their respective reigns of power had been sadly absent in foresight, pragmatism and even a modicum of management of the economy. In the long run, especially in the case of the first two, husband and wife, the country’s exchequer suffered irreparable damage and much harsher and long-term oriented policies and their implementation only could bring about some financial sanity to the country. And all three were terribly oblivious to the misdoings and uncouth conduct of their respective parliamentarians and subordinates.

Accountability or lack thereof, which is haunting the present governing circles, was as much an issue of that era as it is today. Not holding their parliamentarians, including some key Cabinet Members, accountable for some very serious breaches of code of ethics and elementary parliamentary manners had been a fundamental trait in their respective regimes.

Examples are aplenty and could be cited one after another. Senior Cabinet Minister Wimala Wijewardene’s most unbecoming conduct with Mapitigama Buddharakkhitha Thera during the ’56 regime and Bandaranaike being in total oblivion to the melodrama that was being played out in the open, Mrs. Bandaranaike taking no notice of her drunken MPs inside the Chamber of Parliament and Chandrika Kumaratunga taking no action whatsoever over a minister getting caught red-handed with a woman inside his own office in very compromising postures, have all added up to the numerous cases of uncouth and lowly conduct of subordinates tolerated by them. No action whatsoever was taken to remove them from office or at least to reprimand them. Political expediency overrode decent and constrained behaviour.

So, Chandrika’s ownership of the Bandaranaike legacy extended over the boundaries of political heritage and social class. The negative baggage that was added to the otherwise illustrious fame and power-aura became the talking point especially among those who hover around Colombo social circles. Yet Chandrika exhibited tremendous sustaining power and endurance. Unlike her younger brother Anura, Chandrika did not decide to sit on her laurels and expect everything to fall on her lap. She displayed, both to the Colombo-centered ‘opinion-makers’ as well as to the common masses, that she is a different kind of Bandaranaike.

The charisma that she possessed and the way she got about using that charismatic appeal towards all her own ends spoke volumes about her desire to reach the top and her willingness to trample any foot or take no prisoner along the way, showed a tremendous character in a hurry to ‘win at any cost’. ‘Win at any cost’ attitude, a fundamental trait of any competitive person who is engaged in a competitive field, could be an incalculable asset, not only to the person but to the organization he or she chooses to muster and lead.

Moreover, in the context of a muted opposition, barring those firebrands of the JVP and Sarath Fonseka, Chandrika Kumaratunga offers the current electorate a dimension that the Rajapaksas would love to hate- calling them what they ought to be called. Chandrika delivers her speeches in that lingo that has a distinctive appeal to the downtrodden and déclassé. Not to sound condescending, the writer would categorically state that that particular language spoken by Chandrika and understood by that niche audience is unique and the facts that flow out of that language are even more direct, ‘below-the-belt’ and most importantly, perceived and believed to be true. That is a very formidable combination for a politician.

The tactics and mechanisms that are being put into practice by the current ruling clique with remarkable results could be returned with compound interest if and when Chandrika Kumaratunga mounts the political platform again. The Rajapaksas must be dreading that scenario.

Whatever the minuses that CBK has accumulated over the last two decades could be erased in a relatively short time and the magical personality and the ‘winning ways’ that radiate from her could be ruthlessly exploited by a properly motivated and well-financed campaign backed by an above-average public relations outfit. But Chandrika Kumaratunga has one decisive disadvantage in that, if the ‘common platform’ that fields CBK as the ‘common candidate’ has only one single issue to campaign on – the abolition of the Executive Presidency system- then she will be the last of candidate that the voter would trust to do so if and when she is elected.

Her very strength, relentless pursuit of power, would be turned into her weakness. In the field of candidates whose names play a very prominent role, only Reverend Sobhitha would be trusted by the voter to abrogate the present system of Executive Presidency system; not Ranil Wickremesinghe, not Chandrika Bandaranaike, not General Sarath Fonseka, not anyone else. It is beyond the realm of possibility, at least as at the present moment, that a JVPer would be the ‘common candidate.

The thinkers and planners of the next Presidential Elections would have to grapple with this issue when selecting a common candidate. Finding a candidate whose fundamental qualities should include a ‘winner-image’, a trustworthy persona and the ability to manage a group of politicians with diverse agendas is indeed a very tall order. Chandrika Kumaratunga is fully aware that she is right on top of that list. No other candidate has that charisma and no other politician has that ability to lure away supporters from Mahinda Rajapaksa’s camp, Sri Lanka Freedom Party and she is aware of it and more so, the Rajapaksas are aware of it too.

Even though the current incumbent is cocooned in an intoxicating illusion of omnipotence, his antennas must be adequately tuned and turned in the right direction- ground. Taken in that context, CBK’s letter addressed to President Rajapaksa on the alleged ‘illegal’ surveillance being conducted by the ‘intelligence branch’ of the law is not only pertinent, it was quite timely too. She had that uncanny sense to embarrass the rulers by sending that missive at a time when the regime’ credibility on such matters were being questioned and queried in the United Nations Human Right Council in Geneva. Timing was perfect, the tone of the language was impeccable and the writer’s intentions seemed sufficiently authentic. The entire parliamentary opposition could not find a way to embarrass the regime to the extent that CBK did with her little piece.

Chandrika’s strategy of subjecting the regime to discomfiture brought her image immediately back to the national stage and in the appropriate context too. She is timing her moves well and with cold calculation. Those other potential ‘common candidates’, while somnolent with anticipated pleasure, might find themselves totally out of the picture when it really counts. Well, politics is funny and can be ruthlessly unforgiving too.