When jumbo remains salad green at sixty

Light Refractions - Lucien Rajakarunanayake

Taken in terms of the biblical span of life of a human, the UNP as it turns sixty is just ten years less than three-score ten. With elephants generally believed to have the same life-span as humans, one cannot be faulted for expecting the party of jumbos to show signs of maturity having reached the ripe age of sixty. But judging from what's coming out of the jumbo stables these days it appears the UNP, and particularly its leader, will need many more years than three-score and ten to break away from the salad days and display the darker green of maturity.

In a surprising turn of events, although the UNP is organizationally closer to the Conservative Party of the UK, the leader of the jumbos is showing signs of being far closer to the near lame duck Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, than the upcoming Conservative Leader David Cameron who is doing much better at least in the opinion polls. The Labour Prime Minister is plagued by demands that he announce a date for his resignation from the party and national leadership, while the jumbo leader here, as his party turns sixty, is busy fending off moves to remove him from the party leadership, and only remains shakily on the howdah thanks to the party constitution drawn up by his crafty uncle JRJ.

All that the leader offers the restless jumbos in the green stable that demand changes in the party leadership, structure and policy to keep up with current political realities, is the promise of party reforms. The talk of inner party reforms has gone on for so long, from time the party lost the parliamentary poll in April 2004, and later after the leader lost in his bid for the presidency in November 2005, that it is fast turning to be a dull joke within the party.
When Navin Alipodda from the hilly climes, asked if there had been any invitation to form a national government, Tissa Alihoraneva avoided answering by saying he was only expressing the views of the leader on national governments.

Kaluvara Mahinda, the dark elephant from the South, who had resumed his public demands for change within the party, despite a recent rapprochement with the leader, was heard lamenting how difficult it was to serve the people by being within the herd, unless important reforms were carried out soonest. Many jumbos were seen wagging their trunks in agreement, which seemed to give a clue to the numbers who may rush out to join the blue camp if the leader there lifts the barriers that prevent elephants from rushing in.

To the dismay of those who were placing their hopes on speedy reforms, which were always being promised, the word was spreading fast that Sakala Banda Hanguranaliya who showed signs of spearheading the campaign for reform had suddenly aligned himself with the leader. "We thought he will be the driving force for reform, but now he is repeating what the leader says," said a dejected Sajith Hambanaliya from the Deep South, often touted as a possible future leader of the herd.

Meanwhile, those who were downing drinks at the bar to drown their sorrows at the plight of the herd at sixty, were trying to understand how the leader expected the party would recreate another Perakum Era, which he said the party must strive to achieve, when addressing the faithful at the anniversary celebrations at Hiri Kotha. "He has forgotten that all his talk of another Perakum Era was not bought by the people in November last year. How is he ever going to market this to the people?" asked one grey jumbo who had tasted much better years when the jumbos were in power.
"He said we must follow in the footsteps of our founding leader" said another old jumbo in response.

"Quite right said the former. But the problem is that our leader today has nothing of that first leader in him to take us back to that era of glory. That leader from Botale was a real political giant and not a wimp."

"It's easy to talk of another Perakum Era, like that of the first leader. But then our leader also talks of peace and justice. Are we to follow the example of the first leader and disenfranchise all the plantation workers who are not Sinhalese? What is the message he is giving?" asked Navin Alipodda.
"That will really lead to "thoppi thottam" for all of us; one wizened jumbo was heard saying.

"At sixty years of age, it seems the wisest thing to grab the hand offered by the blue leader, who is just now making all the winning moves," said another jumbo who had known better days for the herd.