The political ‘animals’  we choose

This seller of plastic balls at Galle Face Green is sure to know how customers make choices regarding his products, but he might find it difficult to choose which candidate to back during an election

• Voters can quickly spot the political animal who is canvassing for votes–thanks to education; but people must be careful about the politician who can conceal the ‘animal’ within
• The confidence Wickremesinghe gives people about the economy can be eclipsed by the love AKD is winning from the people
• There is a school of thought that a debate between Sajith and AKD might not be the ideal at this juncture in politics; this is because both are working on winning the love of the people

We cannot change the political landscape of this country as long as we go to the polling booth and look for a candidate who is the best ‘choice’ in our search among those who are the least corrupt

We only have one question for all presidential candidates: 
How does the manifesto of each party or alliance defer from the Constitution of the country? 

Sri Lanka is getting ready for presidential elections, but there is one thing that voters must realise and that is the fact that politicians will hide their dirty traits under the spotless white attires they wear. You can see this happening right now despite so many lessons being learned over the years.

This fact is true with all politicians regardless of what party they belong to. So what’s the alternative? The alternative is to choose an individual who has the least political traits in him. We know one thing and that is the fact that voters can quickly spot the political animal who is canvassing for votes–thanks to education. But people must be careful about the politician who can conceal the ‘animal’ within. The same must be said about the politician who can conceal his stupidity. Often, people can know the shallowness of a politician only when one gets to work with him or her in the ministry the individual is appointed to. 
These days, the National People’s Power (NPP) is fast gaining popularity and increasing its vote base. On the other side, the grand old party’s Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is showing that he is the alternative. However, the confidence that Wickremesinghe gives people about the economy can be eclipsed very easily by the love that Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) is winning from the people. Voters are ‘masters’ at confusing these two aspects–confidence and love–when it comes to the deciding day of the election. 

We only have to ask one question from all these presidential candidates. And that is, how does the manifesto of each party or alliance defer from the Constitution of the country? At the last presidential election, one candidate boasted–even after winning the contest–that he had included the elimination of chemical fertiliser in his election manifesto. He gave this response when criticism was directed at him by farmers who lost their produce due to this ill-timed policy. The implementation of this policy turned out to be a disaster. When the lawmaker announced during pre-election talks about his programme for agriculture, he earned the love of the people. That is why we must be concerned when a person like AKD is winning the love of the people pretty fast during pre-election time. The same can be said about Sajith Premadasa, another presidential hopeful. This is why there is a school of thought that a debate between Sajith and AKD might not be the ideal at this juncture in politics. This is because both are working on winning the love of the people. There is no point setting up a battle between two people who share similarities. Maybe, a better bet would be a debate between AKD and Wickremesinghe or one between AKD and Patali Champika. We want to see a clear economic plan for this country; one which would not be changed at least for the next five years. 
Lawmakers still use attention grabbing as a tool for survival. Can you remember some days ago the police rounding up many individuals who were riding racing bikes on the streets of Colombo? They were disturbing the public by riding these noisy bikes on the main road at odd hours of the day. When this writer saw this incident being relayed during the night time news broadcast, it helped recall a similar incident in politics from the past. There was a time–just after Mahinda Rajapaksa lost during his third attempt at running for presidency–when lawmakers coined up a master catchphrase. It went like this: ‘There are  no permanent friends or enemies when it comes to engaging in politics’. The majority of the people of this country failed to understand that what was being said by these politicians or what was being implied was that these lawmakers have no shame. Going further, it suggests that politicians have no principles to live by. 

The 225 in parliament is a small number, but this small group is doing such big damage to the country. The ‘aragalaya’ (the protest) attracted massive crowds. But, it was a handful of individuals–with vested interests–who ‘camouflaged’ themselves within this crowd and spoiled the people’s efforts. The word ‘misuse’ was written all over during the most vital moments of this protest; hence, its failure. But, the protest gave the government a strong message that the genuine protesters of this struggle underscored that by operating under one umbrella that they had formed a powerful group. They brought a regime change and a President down on his knees, but their efforts didn’t create the desired system change. The much needed system change cannot be made when people of this country continue to be ‘used’. 
A good many people of this country are living beyond their means; hence, need credit cards or the help of lawmakers to survive. They are stuck in debt. Some people cannot go on retirement. This is because they have loans to pay or receive no support from children who have immigrated to other countries and are selfish now. There is only a handful of people who somehow make ends meet with their salaries or savings and don’t cow down to anyone. Most importantly, they maintain standards and principles in life. The politicians fear them, because they cannot be used. 
We cannot change the political landscape of this country as long as we go to the polling booth and look for a candidate who is the best ‘choice’ in our search among those who are the least corrupt. The Parliament is a representation of the people. The change will come only when people develop values, principles and qualities as humans. The ‘result’ of that will be sending worthwhile people to parliament. Sending a good man to parliament is not a ‘choice’, but the ‘result’ of hard work done to change the system. People these days are enduring a lot of nonsense by politicians, but that patience is not the yardstick we must rely on. We must develop a kind of patience where we can tolerate jokes made at the expense of our religion and culture and still not be unnerved by what happens outside our control. Till we create that mentality within, we are vulnerable or gullible to the actions of the politician. Till that change comes, we can be used; hence, we continue to live on dangerously!