Crisis-ridden Sri Lanka welcomes a new prime minister, 73-year-old Ranil Viklemasingha.
On May 12, local time, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed Unity Party leader Wickremesingha as the new prime minister, succeeding Former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who resigned on May 9 and brother of Gotabaya.
The new prime minister is not "new", in fact, this is the fifth time that Viklemasingha has become the prime minister of Sri Lanka. On the evening of the 12th, Viklemasingha was sworn in at the presidential residence in the capital Colombo, and he said that he would lead Sri Lanka out of the crisis.
However, the analysis believes that in the face of the worst economic crisis in more than half a century and the resulting political and social turmoil, the "veteran" who has been in Sri Lankan politics for decades may not be able to successfully break the situation.
On May 12, 2022 local time, Viklemesingha was sworn in as Prime Minister at the presidential residence in the capital Colombo. Figure/IC photo
The new Prime Minister, who is also the former Prime Minister
Sri Lanka has recently erupted in sustained anti-government protests because of the ongoing economic crisis.
According to the BBC, on May 9, local time, supporters of then-Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa clashed violently with anti-government protesters in Colombo. Subsequently, Mahinda announced his resignation as prime minister via social media.
Mahinda's resignation did not calm the anger. Although Sri Lanka has once again imposed a curfew throughout the country, demonstrations have not stopped, and there have even been violent arson attacks. According to the BBC, at least nine people have died in the unrest and more than 200 others have been injured since Mahinda's resignation.
A protester told the BBC in Sri Lanka that they had come to the protest site despite the curfew. "We are suffering more and more now: no kerosene, no gasoline, no diesel, no electricity."
On May 12, 2022, local time, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, military personnel patrolled the streets after the curfew was lifted. Figure/IC photo
In a national address on the evening of May 11, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya said he would appoint a new prime minister with the support of a parliamentary majority, and then form a new cabinet to lead the country forward. The next day, Gotabaya appointed Viklemasingha as the new prime minister.
Viklemasingha is a veteran Sri Lankan politician who served as Sri Lanka's Prime Minister in May 1993, December 2001, January 2015 and December 2018. However, he never completed a full prime ministerial term. According to the Sri Lankan Constitution, the Prime Minister serves a term of five years.
Wang Ser, an assistant researcher at the Institute of South Asia of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said in an interview with the Beijing News that for Sri Lanka, in the face of the ongoing political, economic and social crisis, the top priority is to appoint a new prime minister and end the current political vacuum and anarchy, which is the first step out of the current chaos.
"As for why Weklemasingha was chosen in the end, it may be because Gotabaya has found it difficult to find someone willing to take on this 'hot potato'. Earlier, the largest opposition party had refused to join the new government unless President Gotabaya resigned, but Gotabaya was clearly reluctant to resign. Wang Se explained.
Indian media NDTV reported that after Mahinda's resignation, Gotabaya contacted the leaders of several political parties, but the largest opposition party, the United National Forces Party, and the third largest political party, the People's Liberation Front, both said that only president Gotabaya resigned and was willing to lead the new government. Gotabaya was apparently reluctant to resign, and Viklemasingha became almost the only option for the new prime minister.
But Wickremesinghe was very weak in parliament. He leads the United National Party, once Sri Lanka's largest post-independence party, but after the 2020 parliamentary elections, the party held only one of the 225 seats in parliament, which is himself.
"Viklemasingha's first task is to form a broadly representative, cross-party coalition government. But this will be a very difficult task, because the opposition parties are united only when they are against the president, and other times they have their own interests and it is difficult to unite." Wang Ser said.
Viklemasingha seems to be convinced of this. Asked if he could maintain his position as prime minister with only one seat in parliament, he said, "In this regard, I will prove the majority support," NDTV reported.
The ruling People's Liberation Front and several smaller parties have reportedly said they will support Wickremesinghe. But there are also parties that argue that Wickremesingha's appointment is unconstitutional because he currently has neither parliamentary majority support nor sufficient public support.
The president refused to resign, and the crisis remains elusive
According to Sri Lanka's "Daily Mirror" report, on the morning of May 13, local time, Viklemasingha came to the prime minister's office to officially begin his prime ministerial term.
As prime minister for the fifth time, Viklemasingha may face more difficulties than ever before.
On May 12, after being appointed as the new prime minister, he said, "I accept the post of prime minister to save this country so that the people of this country can have three meals and basic supplies such as fuel, oil and gas, and electricity."
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948. Affected by the new crown epidemic, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and other factors, Sri Lanka's foreign exchange is seriously insufficient, which means that the country is unable to pay for imported food and fuel, resulting in the shortage of basic materials such as food, medicine and fuel.
On May 12, 2022, local time, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, after the curfew was lifted, people lined up at the central bus station to get on the bus. Figure/IC photo
Wang Se believes that Viklemasingha is a politician with political feelings who hopes to stand up and lead the country out of the crisis when the country is facing a crisis. At the same time, he also hoped to revive the influence and political prestige of the United Kuomintang. However, "the current political and economic crisis facing Sri Lanka is already very serious, and even Wickremesinghe, who has a wealth of political experience, may not be able to successfully break the situation."
Viklemasingha said on the 12th that he will focus on solving the economic crisis after taking office. But he stressed that "I cannot solve this problem alone and I need international help".
Wang Ser also pointed out that Sri Lanka's economic crisis may be difficult to solve on its own, and in the short term, Viklemasingha may need to negotiate debt restructuring and emergency assistance with international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and China, India and other countries. However, in the long run, Sri Lanka still needs economic reforms, including industrial restructuring and industrialization, so as to truly lead Sri Lanka out of the crisis.
However, although the new prime minister has taken office, the turmoil in Sri Lanka may not end in the short term. According to the BBC, many Sri Lankans are unhappy with the move to appoint Wickremesinghe as prime minister, as Wickremesinghe is believed to be very close to the Rajapaksa family.
In fact, many protesters have called for President Gotabaya to resign, proposing the abolition of the presidential system. However, Gotabaya only said in a televised speech on the 11th that he would transfer part of the presidential power to the parliament, and did not give a specific timetable. According to NDTV, the Office of the Speaker of Sri Lanka's Parliament said it would hold a no-confidence motion debate against President Gotabaya on May 17.
Wang Ser pointed out that Gotabaya had his brother Mahinda step down in the hope of calming the anger of the people, and he himself refused to resign despite great public pressure. However, in the current situation, an important demand of the Sri Lankan people is to get rid of the rule of the Rajapaksa family, so it will be difficult for the people to calm down when Gotabaya is not down.
On May 11, 2022, local time, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, after clashes between demonstrators and supporters of Sri Lanka's ruling party, the curfew was extended for another day, and the military patrolled the city. Figure/IC photo
"At the moment, the anti-government demonstrations in Sri Lanka are still continuing. If Gotabaya does not continue to take some actions, the conflict and turmoil in Sri Lanka are likely to continue. Wang Ser said.
Viklemasingha said on the 12th that it would allow the protests at a major protest point near the presidential secretariat to continue, and expressed its willingness to dialogue with protesters. Asked if he was worried about protesters demanding his resignation, he said, "If I can take on the job of dealing with the economic crisis, I can also deal with this issue."
According to the Daily Mirror, from 6 o'clock on May 13, Sri Lanka will lift the curfew. After that, the curfew will be resumed again at 14:00 on the 13th until 6:00 on May 14.
Beijing News reporter Xie Lian
Edited by Fan Yijing Proofreader Li Lijun