SLFP’s pragmatic bent

The challenge confronting local political parties which claim to be national and not parochial in policy orientation is to live up to this claim and it could be said of the SLFP, as it completes its 61st year as a foremost political party of Sri Lanka, that it is managing to do this.

Except for a brief interruption of two years, from 2002 to 2004, SLFP-led governance has been the norm in this country since 1994 and even a casual assessment would reveal that it is a species of political pragmatism, among other crucial factors, which has enabled the SLFP to be at the centre of governance for so long.

In evaluating the SLFP’s endurance in the seat of governance over the past few years, the Mahinda Rajapaksa factor too would need to be always focused on in consideration of his dynamism and charisma as a Head of State and government and it could be said that the Mahinda Rajapaksa Presidency combined with the SLFP’s pragmatism have been among the crucial contributions towards the SLFP’s ability to strongly prevail in the local political arena.

When analyzed closely, it is evident that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has enhanced and consolidated the pragmatic bent of the SLFP through his general cordiality towards the communities of this country and also by virtue of his recognition of merit and ability, irrespective of where they manifest themselves.

The resounding defeat of the LTTE by the Sri Lankan Security Forces under the leadership of President Rajapaksa has enhanced the standing of SLFP-led coalition governments and that of the President in the eyes of the local public and these are very huge pluses the Opposition would have to contend with in the days ahead. But the SLFP’s centrist policies and its ability to build pragmatic alliances with seemingly disparate political entities would always need to be factored in too as important elements in the party’s ability to endure at the helm.

In South Asia, it is certainly the day of the coalition and the SLFP has proved exceptionally adept in governing along with those parties that matter. It would come as a great relief to the communities of this land that the SLFP is currently shunning majoritarianism, which policy combined with populism, played a huge role in alienating those considered minority communities from political parties which described themselves as national in outlook. In fact, for quite some time the SLFP was perceived in these terms by sections of local opinion.

But it could no longer be argued that this is the case. The SLFP is today governing in partnership with parties which represent a wide cross section of the Lankan polity in the form of the UPFA and this is enabling the party to attract to it the backing and votes of a range of persons, communities and cultural groups.

In addition, the SLFP has managed to retain the centrist core of its domestic and foreign policies and this too needs to be factored into its political successes over the years.

While it has not gone to extremes in the area of economic development by taking on wholesale, without modifications, the market-led growth model, it has adhered to the essentially S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike vision that Sri Lanka must adhere to what is considered a Middle Path in the conduct of its foreign policy.

These policy positions have enabled the SLFP to win the allegiance of the majority of the people locally, and to command considerable respect in the international sphere. Since the less advantaged sections constitute the majority locally, the centrist economic policy of SLFP-led coalitions has generally benefited the people and enabled them to be sustained materially.

The SLFP’s policy of Non-alignment, meanwhile, has enabled it to win and retain the support of the developing world and other sections which matter internationally. The recently concluded 16th NAM Summit bore out the current extent of international backing for Sri Lanka and its President.

Thus, comparatively, the SLFP has done quite well in governance and has justified the confidence its support base has reposed in it. Speaking more forcefully against religious chauvinism and communalism is bound to enable the SLFP to win more popular support and retain its number one slot in governance.