Opposition’s desperate tactics

Besides losing elections with monotonous regularity, one of the most glaring characteristics of the present political Opposition is its penchant for destructive and mindless criticism. It is not our duty to spell out how the Opposition could engage in more effective politics, but it is plain to see that its desperation over languishing for too long in the Opposition benches is getting the better of it. Whereas, what is expected of it is constructive and valid criticism, all that the public gets mostly from the Opposition is destructive vituperations against the government. In short, a lack of ideas is part of the sad lot of the Opposition.

A growing economy is fundamental to the well being of the country and given the Opposition’s generally destructive mindset, one could expect it to harp on the perceived mishandling of the economy as one of its principal themes. But on this front, as on many more, the state has carried out its functions with notable dexterity and any objective observer would commend rather than criticize the government for its economic performance. Economic growth figures would prove the baseless nature of the Opposition’s criticisms. Besides, one needs to take note of the shrinking numbers in poverty and the per capita GNP which has taken Sri Lanka to the ranks of the Middle Income Countries.

All this and more has been possible because of the state’s able handling of the economy. Looked at closely, it could be seen that the state’s commitment to equity, coupled with its initiatives in the direction of spurring economic growth, have combined to give the country a fairly satisfactory material condition. In other words, social welfarism combines well with a degree of economic liberalization.

It is this combined strategy which has been keeping Sri Lanka out of the ‘red’ in economic terms over the years. These achievements could even prove the envy of the West because the latter is now in the economic doldrums and is withering amid the grimmest economic misery, as is well known. The repeated endorsements we have received from the foremost international financial institutions are testimony that the Lankan economy is generally robust and could weather many a storm.

All this, the Opposition is aware of and it is the reason why it chooses to target the country’s economy with the most vitriolic of criticisms. Currently it is singling out prime public personalities, such as, the Central Bank Governor and the Central Bank for vituperative onslaughts. Some other institutions which are not being spared such mindless fault-finding are the The Finance Company, the EPF and the National Savings Bank. Last Saturday, we front-paged the state’s rebuttal of these unsubstantiated criticisms and these observations proved most copious and comprehensive.

In these circumstances, we believe, the state needs to be more proactively involved in putting across to the people an accurate picture of the country’s affairs. The state and the public cannot expect the Opposition to be objective and fair when commenting on the country’s issues because it is usually destructively-oriented. One cannot expect it to be balanced because the Opposition has habituated itself to the belief that picking out the short-comings of the state is its one and only task. Thus has the Opposition failed the country.

On a wide range of issues, the state has gone more than the extra mile to help the public. Whether it be subsidized fuel, state-cushioned power and energy costs and chemical fertilizer, not to speak of expenditure on free education and health services, the state has been in the forefront of making the people’s lot more bearable. This needs to be realized by all, but this is something the Opposition would not dare divulge. The state needs to think well ahead and steal a march on the Opposition in influencing public opinion.