Former President and Leader of the United National Party (UNP) Ranil Wickremesinghe says that party-based politics will ultimately fail, and that political decisions will increasingly be shaped by individual personalities rather than party lines.
Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe made these remarks when he visited the Jayaratne Funeral Parlour in Borella yesterday evening to pay his final respects to the late Manoja Madhuwanthi Karunaratne.
Speaking to a group of journalists and political figures, the former President reflected on the current state of opposition politics in Sri Lanka.
“While the opposition’s role in Parliament remains important, their effectiveness has weakened significantly,” he said, noting that today only a handful of individuals or personalities rather than a cohesive party – seem to be actively involved in political affairs.
He noted Chamara Sampath Dasanayake and Dayasiri Jayasekara as examples of such figures.
At the event, former allies of Wickremesinghe who now represent the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), including Waruna Rajapaksa and Mahesh Senanayake, inquired about the opposition alliance.
“I do not agree with the idea of the SJB leadership taking over the alliance. If I agree to that, do you have any proposals or solutions for the future direction of that alliance?”, Wickremesinghe responded.
His pointed question left both Waruna Rajapaksa and Mahesh Senanayake silent.
On the subject of reunifying and strengthening the divided UNP, Wickremesinghe made an unexpected prediction.
“In the future, both the SJB and the UNP will disappear from the political landscape. This is not just a phenomenon in Sri Lanka but worldwide where character-based politics’ is emerging everywhere. Party politics is becoming obsolete,” he said.
He went on to compare the situation with political shifts seen in other democracies.
“Even the Republican Party in the United States was weakened, but Donald Trump managed to seize control. The same applies to the UK. And in France, the President’s focus is far beyond traditional party lines.”
(Newstube)
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