Editorial - Lifejacket of popularity

Here in Sri Lanka, popularity alone can manufacture politicians; sometimes against their own will.
 Ours is a political history that carries the resonance of well-known figures entering politics; sailing on their fame to the helm though ruling is not in their blood. In worse cases, they become the sails of sinking boats; certain parties and individuals, riding on someone else’s popularity wave to grab power, which is not within their reach.

It was somewhat rare in the annals of power, an individual who found fulfillment in his subsequent call to ‘serve people’ making use of the popularity he had already gained. The best or perhaps the only figure that fits the portrayal would be the heartthrob of yesteryear silver screen the late Vijaya Kumaratunga, whose popularity could thicken the venom of his enemies in the same speed it escalated the number of people who believed in his mission. Like a sequel to Mrs. Bandaranaike’s taking into ruling, ironically it was the catalytic wave created by his untimely death that saw his widowed wife making her voice heard in the arena to which she was no stranger.



It was the same case with the Buddhist monks who contested the General Election in the aftermath of the demise of the prominent preacher, Ven. Gangodawila Soma Thera where the popularity of the latter ferried them to the House.
It was not only the dead that created waves for others to ride on.
There are also the living who ride on theirs or loan it to others. The absurdly politically illiterate movie stars, sports personalities, and the ignoble drama queens are monuments of bad political taste of the voters.

The talk resurfaced last week, when former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka openly invited Chief Justice Shirani Babdaranayake to join politics. Fresh from the unimaginable war victory and with the raw scars from the fallout with the Executive, Mr. Fonseka would have been every bit vulnerable as Dr. Bandaranayake right now. It was his recognition then that was grabbed by the seasoned politicos sliding down their diminuendos, cunningly luring him with power as a tool of revenge.

If politics has taught him something, his way of showing solidarity to the CJ should not be an invitation to jump into the pit of no return. Her emergence as a public figure should not be anyone’s lifejacket. Some hands are meant to stay clean. When the monks waved yellow flags, people begged. When Mr. Fonseka went begging for ‘kathirey’ people wept. No doubt, her power to pull crowds must be tempting yet, the CJ should not be a puppet or a victim of someone else’s politics.

Besides, the talk about making a politician out of the girl with the snake, who has recently become a media sensation, could not be entirely false; for this is a country where anything that is horded by people can be made a politician.
After all, what people suffer today are nothing but the consequences of their own preferences!