Of fluttery butterflies and slimy LEECHES...

Its not everyday that a President of a representative democracy mentions butterflies, not once but twice, in a public speech. Our President is obviously not fond of butterflies, going by what he said at the rally held at the Parliament Roundabout on Monday. The interminable list of his grievances and lamentations against the ousted PM as well as the reasons for removing the latter and appointing the former President and strongman to that seat, lengthens.   
 The President is all at sea in his apologetics and woefully out of logic in defence. He was so out of sync at Diyawanna that MR had to remind him to stand still for the national anthem.   
In appointing MR as PM, the President was confident that MR commanded the majority support of the Parliament. Then came the ‘assassination plot’ followed by the ‘cultural differences’ with RW, among other things, apparently making unity impossible. Surprising, indeed, not to have realised that they were worlds apart in terms of cultural allegiances and personal inclinations, being in Parliament for over four decades and brushing shoulders with each other; but better late than never, you may say!   

Third in the list

That aside, now it seems that it was not purely on the basis of 113 in Parliament that the President has made his dubious move on the night of October 26, which opponents call unconstitutional. Apparently, going by what he said, egged on by a cheering and devout MR worshipping crowd, MR was never a first choice. It turns out that his first choice was Sajith, the second Karu and in the absence of no volunteer to become PM, he was left with no alternative but to select MR. The UNPers are not fond of white hoppers it seems!   
Undoubtedly, the remark must have irked the Moustachioed Macho Maverick, to be counted third in the list. Falling from the throne, accepting nomination as the Kurunegala District Parliamentary candidate from MS, then standing up when MS inaugurated the eighth Parliament on September 1, 2015, and finally receiving the PM post from him a few days ago would have been too much. No, MR would not have liked that remark even a wee bit! As Ajith Perera, MP quips, not only has MS entrusted his political future in the hands of an extremely vindictive, not to say vicious politician, who never forgets those who have humiliated him, but also playing roulette with his very physical existence, with a man who wanted him six feet sub terrain, not once but five times; given the well-renowned theatrics of the Rajapaksa clan, decried by him at defection in November 2014, the apprehension 
stands valid.   

"The attempt to gatecrash the Attorney General’s Department, holds the key to the question. People look at Diyawanna, Wijerama and Temple Trees, but I dare say, the eye of the storm lies in Hulftsdorp"

The Leech Tweet

Another with the acronym MS, namely Mangala Samaraweera, tweeted ,obviously feeling the pinch of the butterfly insinuation, that it was better to be a butterfly than to be a leech; a reference to a despicable creature with the habit of attaching itself to any living organism to suck blood for its own survival. Well, MS did indeed get a pint of fresh political blood on January 8 after he clung on to the UNP and a floating vote amounting to 6.2 million. Now realising that he would never be the common candidate from the green side of the divide, he embarked on a type of a blitzkrieg, the hara-kiri style , a do or die mission, to leech on to another formidable and ever compliant political organism, the most credulous, worshipping and cult like constituency of the former strongman, a proverbial easy suck for a political piggybacking leech.  The numbers game which was peanuts earlier for MR and his siblings with billions to dangle, seems a bit dodgy this time around. Firstly, there are only 30 Cabinet seats to carrot out; any prospective government thus conjured, with less than one and a half years left, appearing less appetizing for the turncoats in terms of the spoils such positions offer; the obvious indignation, of the moderate and apolitical segments, as shown by the lukewarm crowd support the Jana Mahima received; RW quite unlike his old self, deciding not to budge an inch turning Temple Trees into a symbolic fort of democracy; the galvanizing effect the highhanded move has had on the grassroot member of the UNP who are flocking to Colombo day in day out, something unimaginable pre October 26; amicable Karu not being so amicable and pliant anymore to the MR bandwagon. 
All this deter possible crossovers and as in the case of Manu the media man, might trigger traffic in the opposite direction.   

Picture postcards from Swaziland

It is very rarely, that a PM or a national leader of that capacity would not receive even a single congratulatory note from the international community almost two weeks after appointment. Even the good old chief of Swaziland, with his blatant excesses and orgies, had the presence of mind to check his instincts before saying hi to his old friend from Sri Lanka. Just like the Rajapaksas eagerly awaited and highly publicized each and every ship and airplane that came to their port and airport, I am sure they will blow from all trumpets had the Swazi chief, at least, posted a picture postcard to his counterpart of sorts. That too is yet to be.  No, it hardly augurs well for the former strongman of this isle, not at all. He is an old fox who would have, even in his sleep, realised that a UNP government that was growing extremely unpopular and having less than eighteen months in power would have offered him an ideal springboard to bounce back with a vengeance (not only figuratively, mind you) had he the patience and more importantly, time.   
My gut feeling says it was the time factor. Something might have drastically forced his hand to accept the MS offer. Otherwise, why jeopardize a certain opportunity and the return to glory, cometh the next election?   

• President out of logic in defence

• Mangala tweets: Better to be a butterfly than to be a leech

• Public not privy to shady spots in SL’s political history

The eye of the storm

The attempt to gatecrash the Attorney General’s Department, holds the key to the question. People look at Diyawanna, Wijerama and Temple Trees, but I dare say, the eye of the storm lies in Hulftsdorp. The files in the AG’s Department as well as the appointment of Special High Courts. That is where the fate of a dynasty lies. The entire pantomime might not so much be directed at political power, per se, as it may be escaping the gallows or lengthy terms of imprisonment with RI.   
But that too is an educated guess of an ill informed citizen, mind you!   
There are many shady spots in our national political history that commoners like you and me are not privy to, folks! Like what MR told RW when they met on the wee hours of January 9, 2015 as well as what Gotabaya Rajapaksa whispered to RW when they met in a hush-hush one on one midnight rendezvous at Temple Trees a few days ago. Albeit now figuring as the bastille of democracy, Temple Trees is not without its fair share of political intrigue, by a long stretch! It is in such a context the rationale for the move and its aftermath baffles me.  As MR himself admitted at the Diyawanna rally that he would not have made such a move himself, had he been the President; he needs not. He is not a leech who has to cling on to an alien political entity for survival. That is, if not for the time factor!   
In the mean time, the politics of butterflies and leeches, eating white hoppers and drinking black coffee, continues to dazzle the public eye.   
I dare venture to state who are better; butterflies or leeches? Even if I did, would it matter, when a 6.2 million vote matters so little?