The old order changeth
The United National Party (UNP), often referred to as the GOP (Grand Old Party) has decided to its best to drown separately, rather than drown together. Following its candidate’s defeat at last November’s presidential election, the party went into further remission rather than get together and face adversity jointly.
It is not unusual for parties that face an electoral setback to hit by internal problems. The UNP faced a drubbing at the 1956 election that ushered in a much vaunted “apey aanduwa” (our government). The UNP faced a similar fate when it was crushed in 1970, but each time, notwithstanding internal issues, it rose, regained the people’s confidence and returned to office.
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) faced similar issues in 1977 with the party breaking up. It took the party 17 years to return to power and place, thanks to the UNP disintegrating despite being in office. The SLFP, one way or another, has been holding the reins of power ever since.
The internal squabbles within the UNP go back to S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike leaving the party to form the SLFP, Sir John Kotelawela’s issues with Dudley Senanayake and Dudley Senanayake’s issues with J. R. Jayewardene and J. R. Jayewardene’s issues with Rukman Senanayake which saw the formation of a short-lived party. But it was in 1992 that the UNP faced a crippling blow when a formidable group dissatisfied at being sidelined by the then leader broke away and formed a new party.
An old saying is that when elephants fight it is the ants that get trampled, and that would be the plight of the UNPers -- and today’s SLFPers who are silent spectators at the shenanigans of their leaders. For many such supporters, their loyalties to the party could supersede even their loyalty to their country; to some it is a ‘religion’. All this must be a bitter pill to swallow.
In all likelihood, the UNP will be fighting an enemy in front and enemy behind. The SLFP has no alternative but to hang on to its breakaway faction. It seems the old order changeth, yielding place to the new. For better or worse is to be seen. Given the history of breakaway parties, however, it is also possible that after a brief interlude, the old mainstream parties will prevail. There is nothing permanent after all, except change.