19th National Convention in Colombo today:

SLFP in contemporary politics of Sri Lanka

by Prof. Wiswa WARNAPALA

The 19th National Convention of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), which is scheduled for today, coincides with the 57th anniversary of the party which, founded in 1951, emerged as the most effective and formidable alternative to the United National Party (UNP) which dominated the political life of the country in the first decade of post-independent Sri Lanka. The formation of the SLFP was a historic need as the people, who suffered under colonialism and under the leadership of the Senanayake regime, wanted an alternative political party to represent their interests and grievances.

The people, especially those of rural Sri Lanka, who remained marginalised during the period of colonial domination, needed a political party which can successfully aggregate the varied interests of the people in the rural areas who, in the course of time, became the arbiters of the national political conflict in the country. The late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, who, from the time he entered the political arena in the country and through the State Council, engineered the construction of a number of institutions through which he intended to mobilise the oppressed and the emerging rural intelligentsia. It was on the basis of the political potential of those forces and institutions which had an exclusive traditional character that he identified the historic foundations of the party, which, in 1956, came to be associated with the “Pancha Maha Balavegaya” which constructed both the historical and the ideological foundations of the party which, to a great extent, looked at the major issues of the day from the point of view of nationalism.

The “Pancha Maha Balavegaya” represented the major traditional institutions in Sri Lanka, and they were vital instruments of political change; the mobilisation of those with nationalist demands created a strong popular base for the party which, due to the continued influence of those forces, was expected to remain loyal to its traditional support base and its historical foundations. Over time, it became a major political resource of the party and its utilisation, in the context of a growing awareness of the international factor, guided the major policies of the party; its content, in a way, influenced the formulation of public policy in a wide area of government activity. From that point of view, the 1956 historic political change, based on the nationalist political resources of the period, represented a major political resource, though part of which remain politically invalid today, from which the party, its main pressure groups and its widespread political base derived immense political inspiration to convert the party into a virtual political and social movement, the important features of which nourished the party in the last fifty years. It’s still based on this orientation.

Growing influence

The issue before the party, therefore, was how to come to terms with the ever-growing influence of those traditional forces which derived inspiration from both the history and culture of the country. At a later stage, the question was what place, if any, was to be given the traditional institutions, as these institutions and systems normally have a powerful appeal to the masses and the SLFP understood its potential as a source of power whereas the Marxist parties and others saw this whole process as a form of political retardation. Much of the politics of this period centred on this issue, and the continued reliance on the forces and issues in the rural areas of the country, helped the party to retain its formidable popular base, and all leaders, irrespective of their standpoint on major issues of policy, were expected to derive inspiration from this popular source of mass support.

As in 1956 and in the post-1956 period, the formulation of public policy came to be stimulated by such political compulsions, many of which were rooted in the traditional rural instruments of power. This, in political terms, meant that the SLFP, from its inception, was a party founded on the legitimate aspirations of the masses in the village, and both the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike realising its tremendous impact on the whole process of political change in the country, never deviated from this strategy which, till the mid-seventies, determined the nature and content of public policy. Some of the policy changes came to be determined by an ideology which contained certain important strands of social democracy, and the influence of the socialist ideology was not totally absent as this was a period of socialist experiment in most countries of the third world.

All these countries, immediately after de-colonisation, began to emulate certain features of the socialist experiment and the State-centred development strategy came on the scene as the panacea for all ills in the post-colonial State. Both economic and foreign policy came to be built on those foundations which were partly ideological in character, and this was inevitable as the trend in the post-colonial State in both Asia and Africa advocated this direction in policy. Though angering the West, it was a necessity for an emergent State to realise its objectives and aspirations as an independent State, and the SLFP, as the political party which enjoyed power in the Sri Lankan State on a number of occasions, emulated this political strategy with a view to accelerating the process of economic and social change on the basis of the legitimate aspirations of the common man, whose interests and grievances, dominated the policies of the party.

It was on the basis of such aspirations of the common man that the SLFP’s historical foundations came to be built and any attempt to deviate from such foundations interfered with its popular base. As long as the party and its non-cosmopolitan leadership remained loyal to this base, the party remained strong and continued to command respect among the masses of the country.

Some regimes, which were formed under its leadership, were perceived as “regimes of the common man”, whose improvement and enhancement of his opportunities remained the basic policy-strategy of the SLFP, and all rural reconstruction programs, enunciated in the ‘Mahinda Chintana’ and put into practice through the main village reconstruction programs - Gama Neguma, Maga Neguma, Jathika Saviya and Api Wawamu - are part of a conscious policy strategy to address the burning issues of the rural people, from whom the SLFP historically derives inspiration. The party, from the very beginning, articulated the dynamism of the rural elite, and unlike the UNP, never depended on the prowess of the English-educated elite in Colombo. It was the over-reliance on the rural intelligentsia which gave the party a solid base in the rural areas of the country.

It was this formidable base which made the SLFP, despite internal problems it experienced since the famous Kurunegala Conference in 1959, became the most powerful political party with an illustrious record in Government. All its Governments - the 1956, 1960, 1970 and 1994 regimes and the present regime under the able leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, were regimes which made distinctive contributions to social and economic development in the country.

The SLFP today has to play a leading role in the transformation of the country; today the world is going through a period of transformation. The SLFP, therefore, as the party of the people, needs policy perspectives, based on its historical foundations, which take cognisance of this transformation. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, as the President of the SLFP, has understood the nature of this transformation, and his policy package, based on his ‘Mahinda Chintana’, is a realistic compendium of policies which could be utilised to bring about this transformation, the main features of which need to be stability, peace and development.

Harmony and understanding among the different communities are equally important for the acceleration of economic development. It is in this context that the issue of the legitimate aspirations of the minorities, especially those of the Tamil community, arises and they need to be addressed in such a way that the nature of the Sri Lankan State remains unitary in character. It was the SLFP which gave the unitary character of the State a constitutional status, and the party, though deviating a bit in 2000, remained totally committed to the preservation of the unitary character of the Sri Lankan State, and it is through absolute commitment to the concept of the unitary State that sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Sri Lankan State could be preserved.

Coalitions

It was under the leadership of the SLFP that coalitions were formed in this country, and a new coalition political culture came to be inaugurated. It, in addition to the nature of political stability which it nurtured in the system, gave certain smaller political parties the opportunity to share political power. It created opportunities for national integration; this kind of coalition political culture has had a major impact on national politics, for which the SLFP, with the correct political perceptions, provided leadership.In the area of foreign policy, the SLFP historically took the lead in framing the right foreign policy strategies for a new State which was emerging out of colonialism.

All post-colonial States had their own foreign policy postures, some of which showed their alignment with certain powers. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, gave expression to a kind of dynamic neutralism based on national interests; it took regional interests too into consideration in formulating the foreign policy, and the political and intellectual inputs for the formation of this policy came from the SLFP, whose leaders, both the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and Sirimavo Bandaranaike made the most outstanding contribution.

In formulating foreign policy, the SLFP always thought in terms of national interest, and President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in the last four years, managed power as one of the ablest political managers of this period, to see that foreign policy becomes an important element in the management of political power in the context of a massive humanitarian offensive to defeat the most sophisticated and brutal terrorist organisation in the world.

The foreign policy calculations became fundamental and vital in such operations, and the past record of the SLFP’s foreign policy, in the most crucial period, came to the rescue.

Foreign policy

The foreign policy legacy of the fifties, sixties and the seventies began to exert an influence, and Sri Lanka was seen as a small nation which deserves international support to help it to crush terrorism of an international dimension. The SLFP is the only political party in the country which conducted a realistic and pragmatic foreign policy based on national interests, and Mahinda Rajapaksa, in the last three years, gave leadership to a foreign policy based primarily on pragmatic considerations and it was on the basis of this policy that he sought the assistance of new friends. A nation, when faced with a major internal crisis, the main plank of which is to assault both national sovereignty and territorial integrity, cannot bank on the friendship of traditional friends alone. Pragmatic changes and adjustments, based on the immediate national interest tied to the security of the State, are needed, and President Mahinda Rajapaksa made one or two superb foreign policy moves in the international arena with which he demonstrated his capacity for bold policy initiatives.

As Henry Kissinger says, foreign policy always comes down to making choices, and President Mahinda Rajapaksa made such choices at the appropriate time, and established constructive relationships with countries. It was an aspect of summit diplomacy. Relations with India have been constructed on the basis of historical and geo-political considerations and the SLFP, from inception, has made friendship with India as one of the major elements in Sri Lanka’s foreign policy. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, displaying his ability in handling major foreign policy issues, managed the India factor and the Tamil Nadu factor in an admirable way.In the context of a fundamental challenge to the security of the Sri Lankan State, vital foreign policy adjustments are necessary to meet the challenge, and it was in this scenario that the SLFP took certain bold initiatives in the area of foreign policy. This, again, was due to his bold policy initiatives, based on the party’s historical foundations. He never gave into unwanted international pressure.

He, with an unique and extraordinary charisma and popular acceptance, has successfully obliterated all the names of the leaders of independent Sri Lanka, and this is his unique and historic achievement which is certain to remain alive in the minds of the people who saw the defeat of the LTTE as a major historic achievement.

Individual leadership

According to Max Weber, “there is the authority of the extraordinary and personal gift of grace, the absolutely personal devotion and personal confidence in heroism and other qualities of individual leadership. This is charismatic domination exercised in the field of politics.”On the basis of Weber’s assessment, one can say that the leader of the SLFP, President Rajapaksa, within a short period of time, displayed effective qualities of individual leadership through which he strengthened his own mass base which, in effect, has now become a major challenge to all established political parties in the opposition.

How did he succeed in obliterating the names of all the leaders of post-independent Sri Lanka? It was through his commitment and dedication to the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and this was primarily in the context of a massive challenge by the LTTE which, according to many, was invincible. It was his firm belief in the need to protect the unitary character of the Sri Lankan State which motivated him to launch a humanitarian offensive to crush the LTTE, and its demolition and the virtual annihilation brought in a massive fund of political support which is a major political resource which, through its integral relationship to ancient traditions and traditional symbols of power and legitimation, is certain to provide him and his party with many more such resources to strengthen himself and the party in power.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, unlike all leaders who preceded him in office, converted all the available traditional symbols of power and instruments of legitimation, based in history and ancient political lore, into very effective sources of aggregation of interests and mobilisation of mass support. It was a kind of political strategy based on a tradition - not an invented tradition - which can be described as the careful reconstruction and renewal of an ancient tradition through which a political resource has been unearthed to sustain himself in power. He, on the basis of this resource, has now emerged as the most outstanding leader whose position is unassailable and unchallenged primarily because of the popular acceptance which he commands in the country. It is an incomparable political achievement.

This special feature in relation to the political leadership in Sri Lanka has had a tremendous impact on the political process, especially within the parties in the political opposition in the country. The Opposition, both inside and outside the legislature, is in total disarray and is in steep decline; its support base has been damaged beyond repair. As Harold Laski said, the Opposition, particularly the Parliamentary Opposition does not know how to “bicker safely”.It does not bicker at all and it engages only in cheap political rhetoric.

sTherefore President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the SLFP, with its tactics and current strategies, have successfully engineered this crisis within the main party in the Opposition whose support base has begun to erode. All political parties in the Opposition are faced with a legitimacy crisis where their membership has begun to desert the parties and join the SLFP en masse because of the visible failure of their parties to provide leadership to an effective alternative. This is a major crisis within the ranks of the Opposition which specialises only on political rhetoric instead of effective and efficient political strategies. The growing rebellion within the UNP has weakened its leadership as well as its popular base which has now begun to erode because of its failure to understand its own role and its interests. Its leader cannot hide his lack of authority within the UNP, and its political impotence is the biggest advantage to the Coalition in power.

It, apart from its lack of cohesion, cannot generate new ideas, and therefore, is in steep decline. The latest Provincial Council Elections in Uva and the South amply demonstrate this fact, and the decline of the UNP a permanent feature in the politics of the country, cannot be arrested even with a change in its present leader.

Minority representation

The Coalitions, to which the SLFP provided leadership since 1956, are an unique experience in the politics of Sri Lanka; the SLFP has tactfully given places to all shades of minority representation. The present coalition led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa is perhaps the only government in post-independent Sri Lanka that accommodated such a variety of minority interests.

All minority political parties remain fragmented and they have failed to show their ability to work on the basis of a joint political agenda and this again is due to their own regional and communal agenda. The Government, at this point of time, has to perform a number of complex functions that require continued governmental capability.

All functions of government, therefore, demand political capability, and the SLFP and its leader, President Mahinda Rajapaksa have endeavoured to develop a capacity to defend the territorial integrity of the State, while taking calculated measures to sustain both internal order and economic and social development.

The process of change, now taking place under the leadership of the SLFP, is derived from such imperatives of governance, for which all interests have to be carefully aggregated. This has been the main achievement of this coalition government led by the SLFP, and this particular strategy needs elaboration to understand the new processes of change in Sri Lanka.

No party can remain in power without aggregating sufficient power through the activation of individuals and groups who have power, and the SLFP, with its experience in coalition politics, has successfully mobilised the power of such groups to pursue its own political objectives and purposes.

A leader needs certain political skills to manage power in a complex situation, and it is the political resource which one commands that gives the leader the opportunity to project an effective personalised charismatic leadership as represented in the style of leadership of President Rajapaksa who, through a unique kind of charisma, has put the entire Opposition on the defensive.

The role and leadership of the SLFP, therefore, combines history, tradition, ideology and personality, and the party has now emerged as the most powerful political formation, which, given its solid popular base in the Sri Lankan polity, is certain to remain the party of the Government for a considerable length of time.

Through President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s personality, his style of leadership and the wide popular acceptance which he still commands within the polity, the party has obtained the kind of legitimacy which it needs to remain in power.

It has not been acquired; it has been thrust upon the party on the basis of a number of historic and contemporary political factors. SLFP, as in its history of 57 years, has produced a leader to undertake yet another historical mission on behalf of the party.

With the annihilation of the LTTE, which claimed invincibility for more than three decades, a page in history has been turned by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The mere fact that this is so is enough to change the vision of every politician and citizen in Sri Lanka.

(The writer is Minister of Higher Education)