‘We are all to blame for UNP’s defeat not only Ranil Wickremesinghe’ - Ruwan Wijewardene

United National Party’s Ruwan Wijewardene, who was recently elected as the party’s new Deputy Leader says the UNP will undergo major reforms to rebuild itself and win back the confidence of its voters after facing a humiliating defeat in the August General Election. Wijewardene says he will now travel across the country, and work to re-build the party along with all party members, to emerge back into a stronger position by the next election. He has also called on all opposition parties to come together to take on the government stating that the country’s future looked bleak with the present government and said the UNP was most willing to work with the SJB and other opposition parties.  
Following are excerpts of his interview with the DailyMrror. 

• We, as a party, lost touch with our voter base
• We have to shift our battlefield outside, especially on the 20th Amendment
• It is time that the party needs a revamp
• It is not a fight but there are 6 to 7 members eyeing that slot
• Mr. Wickremesinghe is not the one who chose me as the deputy leader
• This Amendment is unnecessary. We brought in the 19th Amendment to restore democracy in the country and to take away the executive powers
• If the Working Committee has the confidence in me, then I will definitely take it on and do what I can
• We have always been given the freedom to voice our opinion
• Younger generation is looking at what the politicians are going to do for the country

 Q  You are now finally the deputy leader of a party that faced a humiliating defeat in the General Elections. What are your plans now?

In a way, I am optimistic because I see the defeat as a silver lining because throughout the last few years, while we were in government, the party hierarchy was slowly moved away from the voter base. We lost touch with our voter base. A lot of our voters felt that we were not looking after them during the time we were in government and that caused a lot of discontent amongst our cadre. And that was the result we got in the General Election. This is an eye-opener as it is time that the party needs a revamp and it needs a total new face that needs to be re-branded. This was long needed. So I feel this defeat pushed us to do that, and get back to our grassroots and see where we went wrong and how we can build the confidence back again among our voters. We saw throughout these years that the majority Buddhist votes were not coming towards us, now we seem to have lost the minority voter base as well. So it is time to really sit down, reflect and analyze exactly where we went wrong and how we can come out of it. In a way, it is now like history repeating itself as some time back, the UNP had fallen down to eight seats and with all the reforms that then took place, in a short time the party went back to winning a huge majority in Parliament. I think we have that opportunity now. If we undertake the right reforms and do the needed changes within the party, we can build the confidence again and look forward to a brighter future for it.  

 Q  You are saying the party has got a new face. But you have been elected as the deputy leader, not the leader of the party as yet and there is a leader who is above you. Why is the leader not stepping down?

What I meant was not a change of face of a particular individual, but I was referring to the party on the whole. I think the party needs a change. It needs to be re-branded. I guess from the time the party was formed, up to now, there hasn’t been a major change. If you look at the current political environment, if you take the SLPP for example, they are a relatively new movement. And it has obviously touched the various classes, including the youth. So the UNP also has to look into this. Our base has always been people who have voted for the UNP from generation to generation. But now the younger generation is not party-oriented. They are looking at what the politicians are going to do for the country, irrespective of the party they represent. The UNP needs a change, but when it comes to the leadership, Ranil Wickremesinghe has clearly stated that by December he is going to hand over the leadership to another person. So that will happen.   

 Q  So that the ‘other person’ is you...?

I do not know. If the Working Committee feels that I am capable of taking on the leadership, then I will be happy to take it over. Frankly, it is not like I have to be the leader of this party. I have good intentions of protecting this party and bringing that Grand Old Party to where it should be. If they have faith in me, I am willing to take it on.  

 Q  When Sajith Premadasa was UNP’s deputy leader, there were allegations that he did not have any powers. You are now the deputy leader, you keep talking of a change, but how are you going to change the party, if you are powerless?

It is not about the power, but basically once you come into this battle, it is what you do. You do not necessarily need to put down everything in paper as to what you need to do once you get a title as a deputy leader. It is up to you to work and make something out of it. So that is exactly what I am going to do. All what I am thinking now is to go to all districts, go to all electorates, speak to our voter base again. There will be a lot of criticism coming our way, but I think someone needs to sit down and listen to all this. All will have to be taken in and then we need to see what we can do and how we can rebuild the party again.   

 Q  Within the past few weeks, we had quite a few contenders who came forward for the leadership post. However, a change in leadership had never happened. But we saw you coming in as the deputy leader. So have you now seen enemies within the party?

There have been so many people who have come forward to become the next leader and all of them have their own capabilities. Obviously I think once you have about four or five people looking at the top slot, and when another person comes in, that will create a little bit of heartburn. But like I said, all these individuals have their own  good qualities, organizational skills and they are needed to take this party forward. So everyone is needed to come together and work together. I guess, it will be a sour point for a couple of days, but we will eventually brand together and work together to take this party forward.  

 Q  How is your relationship with Ranil Wickremesinghe? Do you get along with him?

Yes, I do get along with the leader. There have been instances where we have not seen eye to eye, but we have always managed to sit down, talk things over, so he has always been quite approachable. And we have always been given the freedom to voice our opinion. Whether he takes those opinions or not is another story, but at least we are given the freedom to talk it over.  

 Q  Do you think the former Premier is to blame for UNP’s humiliating defeat at the General Election?

Well, I think we all have to take part of the blame. I do not think we can always put the blame on one person. It is funny, because when you win, everyone takes the credit. But when you lose, it is so easy to blame just one person. I do not think we should blame Mr. Wickremesinghe solely for what happened. Like I said, throughout the years, we, as a party, lost touch with our voter base and we did make mistakes. And it was easy for some of us in the lower ranks to blame the leader. It was a way of trying to escape from the blame. We all should share the blame.  

 Q   Just a few weeks ago, Mr. Wickremesinghe said he was stepping down from the leadership. Then just a few days later, his statement changed. Then we heard within your party members saying by September 6, - when UNP celebrates its 74th anniversary - it would have a new leader. And then a few days later, we heard you and Ravi Karunanayake going in for a secret ballot, where you were elected as the Deputy Leader. Over there, Mr. Wickremesinghe was saying that he was willing to step down any time his party wants him to do so, but at the same time, your other colleagues said he would continue till January. Don’t you think the people would become frustrated by this ever-changing statements?

Well, I guess so. But what the leader meant was he was always looking at a transition period. As well as what he was expecting was that the next leader should come through consensus rather than an election. He was quite concerned that there would be divisions within the party, if we went in for an election. What he was trying to do was to get all the contenders to come together and speak it out and come into an agreement where one person would be selected as the leader. But this did not happen. There were various instances that we met and discussed. There were no quarrels, but we just could not come into an agreement and which was why at some point Mr. Wickremesinghe said since there was no agreement, let the party at least choose the deputy leader. Unfortunately we had to go in for a vote again. Hopefully now everyone would come together without divisions and choose a new leader when Mr. Wickremesinghe steps down in December.  

 Q  One of the allegations that the UNP has always voiced when talking about the Rajapaksas, is that they are shrouded in nepotism. You are related to Mr. Wickremesinghe as well. Isn’t that nepotism within the UNP as well now?

Well, Mr. Wickremesinghe is not the one who chose me as the deputy leader. In fact he did not even use his vote. He, as the leader, stepped out saying he would not cast his vote. So it was the Working Committee that eventually chose me. In fact till recently, I was not even thinking of coming forward for the leadership. It was initially Ravi Karunanayake, General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Vajira Abeyawardena and Daya Gamage who came forward. But increasingly I found a lot of candidates and organisers in the last election, who started calling and telling me that I should come forward. When I did go to meet some religious leaders, it was the same kind of thoughts which were extended. This was why I then thought of thinking of the party, I should also throw my hat in. It was never Mr. Wickremesinghe’s intention that this should go to me. If you know him well, he is never a person who wants things should go to the family first. Initially, he was a bit worried when I did say that I was coming forward. Because he would have thought that there was some level of criticism that would come his way that he was trying to choose his cousin to become the next leader. But this was not the case. He kept himself very independent from this issue. He just wants the leadership issue sorted out soon, causing no divisions within the party.  

 Q  You said you are willing to work with the SJB. Are you planning to join the UNP with SJB to move forward?

Well, most of these people who are in the SJB are those who have worked with us for so many years. And there are so many of my friends who have been with me from the provincial councils to Parliament, and we have faced the tear gases, police batons, demonstrations etc. So we have a history together and we have a very good relationship still, although they are now in a different party. So it is easy to work together and easy to talk it out and with this current political environment, there needs to be a robust opposition. We may only have one national seat in Parliament, but we have to shift our battlefield outside, especially on the 20th Amendment and of course the other issues that are cropping up such as the environmental issues. Then of course in Parliament, we now have murderers and every kind of people are there. So the future of this country doen’t look so good. At some point, the UNP will have to take these challenges and we are most willing to work with the SJB and other opposition parties as well.   

 Q  You have only one national seat in Parliament, but you have still not chosen who you would send in. What’s happening there?

This is also like the leadership issue. Because there are quite a few people looking at this seat.  

 Q  Are you not planning to go to Parliament?

No, I feel that if I go into Parliament, it has to be through the people’s consensus and not through the national list. I should also now concentrate on going around the country, and concentrate on rebuilding the party rather than fighting it out in Parliament. We will choose the correct person to represent us in Parliament.   

 Q  Is there a fight underway within the UNP for that seat?

It is not a fight but there are six to seven members eyeing that slot. So we just need to come to some agreement rather than causing more heartburn.  

 Q  There was a report recently that the SJB was also split up upon you being elected as the deputy leader of the UNP. Some support you, while some don’t. Do you think that would affect you in anyway in working together with the SJB?

It is up to the SJB. If they want to work with me, I am quite open to work with them. In fact I have been in conversation with quite a few members in the SJB and they are of the view that we have to come into an agreement at some point. No one should think about the individual. I feel we should think about the country’s situation now and not only us, but all opposition parties should discuss and come into some agreement now to form a more robust opposition.  

 Q  Where do you see the UNP in the next 5 years?

In a much stronger position than what it is now. Like I said, in the last General Election, most of our voter base did not go to cast their votes. They were disgruntled by the infighting and the split within the party. They would have felt it was absurd going to vote. First of all, we have to go back and build the confidence of the voters, assuring them that there will be a strong change within the party and there is going to be a reorganisation within it. Once we have that, we will speak to the rest of the country. So far that is the plan.  

 Q  Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

Well, I will be happy if the party is in a good position.   

 Q  Are you not eyeing for the leadership yourself?

Well there again, if the Working Committee has the confidence in me, then I will definitely take it on and do what I can. It is a herculean task, but I hope they have faith in me to carry out my work as the deputy leader and also support me if we go in for an election for the leadership slot.  

 Q  Finally, your views on the 20th Amendment....

This Amendment is unnecessary. We brought in the 19th Amendment to restore democracy in the country and to take away the executive powers of the President and place these powers in Parliament. But this is reversing the whole set up, as it is going back to the executive presidency. I believe this is not the right thing. I think within the government itself, there is a split over the 20th Amendment. But I do not think this is the right time to bring in this Amendment and bring back the executive powers within one person. I think the theory is that we need a strong leader to uphold the policies and we may get the President who has the right intentions, but what if the next person who comes in misuses it?