Mahinda Rajapaksa is determined to make a comeback, and with his new party’s strength it is highly likely.
AT 10AM ON October 26, 2018, when the telephone rang at his residence in Colombo, Mahinda Rajapaksa was not prepared for what was to follow. On the line was his nemesis President Maithirpala Sirisena (formerly a minister under Rajapaksa, Sirisena turned on him ahead of the 2015 presidential elections). Rajapaksa was utterly surprised when Sirisena asked him to come to the president’s home in the evening to take oath as the prime minister of Sri Lanka, replacing Sirisena’s coalition partner Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Rajapaksa had his doubts. His brothers, too, were shocked. Gotabhaya, former defence secretary, younger to Rajapaksa by two years, was busy in a meeting. So, Basil, former cabinet minister, younger to Gotabhaya, accompanied Rajapaksa. Gotabhaya, who did not at first believe what he heard about his elder brother’s return to the centre of Sri Lankan politics, was convinced when the visuals of him being sworn in were beamed on TVs across the country. But the bubble burst quickly.
Denne historien er fra January 20, 2019-utgaven av THE WEEK.
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Denne historien er fra January 20, 2019-utgaven av THE WEEK.
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