Ranil Abides
Ranil, in another UNP office
I stopped by the UNP office to pick up my check and lay a wreath on Prabhakaran’s photo. I kid I kid. I just dropped by. They launched their manifesto yesterday, which was interesting besides Ranil’s photo on the back. I was watching Big Lebowski recently and it’s a bit like that. The John Goodman character is permanently stuck in the Vietnam era, making him borderline psychotic in the present day. Ranil’s camp is stuck in the ceasefire heyday and the economic sensibility of that time. But it’s passed now. It’s getting a bit creepy.
The new UNP manifesto is almost all economics, people projects rather than infrastructure. Freeing Fonseka is one bullet point. That is besides the point. The point for me is that whatever the content, the guy delivering the message is still pretty much guaranteed to lose. Which they don’t seem to realize. I thought Ranil was good back then, but now isn’t then. I dunno.
Prabhakaran was stuck in his youth of revolution, Mahinda is stuck in the war, Ranil is stuck in his days as Prime Minister. There are very few politicians that are actually in this moment, or anywhere near it. People just get power and cling onto it for dear life, till the end of life. It’s hard to get in, but then it’s nearly impossible to get out.
More ideologically, I really hope that the war isn’t, like, our Vietnam. As in, something that defines and defines politics forever. In America Obama was the first post-Vietnam politician and the first election where that wasn’t a major issue. Ranil and Mahinda will never be post-war politicians as it was the war that defined them. So we get the same politics. It’s only a year later, but I wonder how long this will go on. We could theoretically get Mahinda vs Ranil for almost ever. Which would suck.
I wish I could be like the Dude and just drink White Russians and not worry about it, but even he kept getting his rug stolen by reality. That is, one would ignore politics if it did not directly interfere with life. I’m trying to remember the lesson from The Lebowski here. Somebody dies, they get ashes in the face, somebody’s pregnant, everybody goes bowling. There we go.
“In America Obama was the first post-Vietnam politician and the first election where that wasn’t a major issue. ”
This is an honest question. What did clinton & both the bushes have to do with vietnam
Also, wasn’t Iraq war a major issue this time?
War still does define US politics. I am not saying that it is right nor that it justifies others doing it. But is it right to say that US has gotten past war defined politics?
When you are the world hegemony war or the impending prospect of war will always be a definitive element of your politics
Ha ha good one.
A short pithy piece that neatly sums up a few issues. Nice.