This morning taking a long, hard look at the “AKD Era”—or as some in the corridors of power might call it, the “Great Marxist Makeover.”
Our President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has inherited a plate that isn’t just full; it’s positively overflowing with the leftovers of decades of mismanagement. It’s a bit like being handed the keys to a Ferrari, only to realize the engine has been sold for scrap, the wheels are square, and the previous owner left the bill for the petrol on the dashboard.
The IMF Tango
First, let’s talk about the economy. AKD is currently engaged in a high-stakes tango with the IMF. On the campaign trail, he promised the masses a “people-centric” economy—which sounds lovely over a cup of tea—but the IMF prefers a “math-centric” economy. He’s trying to lower taxes and increase wages while promising a group of stern-faced men in Washington that he’ll keep the purse strings tighter than a pair of trousers after a heavy Christmas dinner. One wonders: can you really have your cake, eat it, and then ask the baker for a discount on the next one?
The Bureaucratic Brake
Then there’s the “system change.” AKD swept into office on a broomstick, promising to clean out the stable. But he’s found that the bureaucracy is less like a stable and more like a giant bowl of spaghetti—tangled, slippery, and very difficult to straighten out. We’re hearing that decision- making has slowed to a glacial pace. It seems the bureaucrats are so terrified of making a mistake and ending up in the “naughty corner” of an anti-corruption inquiry that they’ve decided the safest thing to do is… absolutely nothing at all. If the wheels of government turn any slower, they’ll actually start moving backward.
The Crony Conundrum
And what of our “Captain-Industry” types? The President has vowed to end crony capitalism. Now, for some of our business elite, “competition” is a four-letter word. They’ve spent twenty years getting rich by being the only ones allowed to sell us anything. AKD wants to open the doors to the free market, but he’s discovering that the “hidden hands” of the past have very long fingers. Squeezing out excess profits is one thing, but making sure the baby isn’t thrown out with the bathwater—that’s the real trick.
A Bright Orange Future?
So, is the future looking bright, or is it just a very vivid shade of orange? The President has the mandate—a massive one, in fact. He’s managed to convince the world he’s not the fire- breathing Marxist some feared, but rather a center-right pragmatist in a red shirt.
The challenge now is to move from rhetoric to reality. Can he transform Sri Lanka from a “rent-seeking” paradise into a productive powerhouse without causing a riot at the supermarket? It’s a tall order, even for a man who’s spent his life shouting from the rooftops.
We have a President who has successfully transitioned from the ‘angry outsider’ to the ‘pragmatic insider.’ He’s managed to charm the IMF, soothe the markets, and keep the red flags flying—all at the same time. It’s a performance that would put a world-class circus acrobat to shame.
But let’s be brutally honest: the honeymoon isn’t just over; the bags are unpacked, and the utility bills have started arriving. Over the next six months, the ‘AKD Era’ will face its true litmus test. Can he move beyond the arrests and the investigations—the ‘low-hanging fruit’ of political popularity —and actually fix the plumbing of this nation?
If the bureaucracy remains paralyzed by fear, if the ‘hidden hands’ simply find new pockets to hide in, and if the cost of a loaf of bread remains a luxury for the many, then the mandate of 2024 will sour faster than unchilled milk in the March sun.
The President tells us he is a man of the people. Well, the people are patient, but they are not eternal. They want to see that the ‘System Change’ they were promised isn’t just a fresh coat of paint on a crumbling house. They want a home that’s safe, stable, and—most importantly— affordable.
We’ll be here, keeping a very close eye on the ledger. Because at the end of the day, it’s not about the color of the shirt; it’s about the content of the character—and the balance of the bank account.
I am still thinking of a Christmas Message but frankly its Challenging. The displaced, the shifting sand in them there hills, the elephant that was burnt alive till death overcame his agony, the cancelled tourists, the hundreds of millions of uninsured stock in Mom and Pop shops across this paradise isle, the dodgy medicine thats killing more of our population even if Keheliya has been charged and awaits the tick tock of his watch – as you can tell we have a connundrum situation.
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