Restraint on economy and full-steam on governance – AKD’s implicit strategy?

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake

What will be the strategy of the new President who soon will be going into a Parliamentary election? My reading is that the implicit strategy of AKD is to practice restraint on economic issues and go full steam on governance. This is evident from the way the campaign progressed with convergence on the economic front between candidates, but with AKD managing to rise above others with his convincing battle cry to restore trust in politicians and politics. 

If that indeed is the strategy, it will be a win-win for all concerned. 

The electoral mandate to AKD is mandate to compromise

Notwithstanding the enthusiasm of the 42% who voted for AKD, there is the 58% who did not. AKD won first-past-the-post, but the electoral result is clearly a mandate for consultation and compromise to take the concerns of at least some of the other 58%. 

The economy and the political culture were the main issues in the campaign, but the NPP manifesto was short on details on each.

On the economy, the NPP manifesto talks about a renegotiation of the critical Debt Sustainability Analysis of the IMF, but on the campaign trail AKD has been framing the renegotiation as a flexible process. 

Political culture is mentioned only once in the manifesto, but not articulated. However, political speeches and interviews are all about bringing about a change of the political culture, and it is a promise all of us can rally around.  

Additionally, the less than 50% of votes handed to him by the electorate is a good incentive to work on the other one million more who must be won over in upcoming parliamentary election. As AKD said in his acceptance speech: “[W]e do have an excellent understanding of the composition and size of the victory. Therefore, we are confident that I can successfully carry out the role assigned during my administration to gain the support and trust of those who did not vote for us and do not believe in us.”

Restraint on economic issues was increasingly evident in the campaign

Interestingly, AKD does not mention the word economy in his acceptance speech, but the most profound crisis he mentions must be the economic crisis. As he says: “We do not believe that the most profound crisis we are facing is something that can be solved by a mere government, a mere political party, or a mere individual. As I have stated before, I am not a magician or a conjurer. I am an ordinary citizen born in this country. There are things I can do and things I cannot do. There are things I know and things I do not know. But my main task is to absorb the abilities, gather what I know, make the best decisions, and act accordingly.”

How he would operationalise this approach is indicated in the Interview of AKD by Kalindu Karunaratne of Ada Derana 360 program, 16 September.

Kalindu: Will the NPP uphold or overturn the Central Bank Act intended to prevent the executive from compelling the Central Bank to print money, among other things? 

AKD: No, the NPP will not overturn the Act but there will be a continuing dialogue between the Treasury and Central Bank. 

Kalindu: How will the NPP change the IMF agreement? 

AKD: We have no intention of endangering the economy by calling for radical changes. Our focus is on changing the parameter of reaching a debt to GDP ratio of 95% by 2032. If that does not work, we will not hesitate to let go of our demand.

Further, Ranil has left enough checkpoints in the economic front

Ranil Wickremesinghe has left his mark with several key legislations to impose fiscal discipline in the executive and the legislation. Namely, Banking (Amendment) Act, No. 24 of 2024, Public Debt Management Act, No. 33 of 2024, Public Financial Management Act, No. 44 of 2024 and Economic Transformation Act, No. 45 of 2024. 

Another significant Act relevant to the economy that was put in place by RW is the Sri Lanka Electricity Act, No. 36 of 2024. All AKD needs is a simple majority in the next parliament to overturn any of these pieces of legislation, but one hopes that he will begin to appreciate the wisdom behind these checks, as he begins to feel the weight of his new mantle. 

Building trust in politics as a rallying point

The crowning promise on candidate AKD’s list is the promise to restore the public’s trust in politicians and politics. The new President reemphasised the urgency for that in his speech.

“The politics of our country should be cleaner. There is an intense yearning by people for a cleaner political culture. We are ready to dedicate ourselves to it. People of this country have an unfavourable impression about the politicians and politics of our country. There is this notion that politics is an unsavoury vocation. Therefore, with our utmost commitment, we will do everything we can to restore the public’s respect and trust towards politics and politicians.”

Prior to the election, when asked by journalist Kalindu Karunaratne to elaborate on their plans to take away privileges of politicians, AKD used the opportunity to emphasise the importance of symbolism in changing the political culture. 

Kalindu: How much of the budget do they expect to cover by recovering evaded taxes or taking away privileges of politicians? 

AKD: We know that recovering back taxes is a long process. Of the 1,066 billion taxes that are pending, only 10% is in default and the rest is currently in litigation, and due process must be allowed. As for taking away privileges of politicians, we know that it will save no more than 2 billion rupees and will not make a dent in the budget. It will be largely a symbolic measure to create a different political culture.

Political culture is defined by values shared by actors in the political sphere and in their relationships. The actors include elected politicians (governing or in opposition), the senior officials selected by the politicians, and the people (those supporting the government, those supporting the opposition, and those in between). Each of these relationships must change for significant change in the political culture.

The relationship between the Sri Lankan people and the elected politicians is largely a parochial one. The best indicators are political cartoons in the newspapers. For example, in the series Suwaris by Daya Hapauwalana of Lankadeepa, his Suwaris is eternally carrying his empty ‘pan malla’ or reed bag, saying in different ways – ‘Sir”, or whoever is in power, we elected you, why aren’t you giving us this or that?

The new President is not asking the people to change. He expects to begin the change from himself and fellow politicians. That indeed is a hopeful note to end this column and wish our new President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and the country, all the best.