Between Populist Rhetoric & Neo-liberal Reality Assessing the NPP’s First Year in Power

Every society has elites who wield the most power, wealth and influence, but their dominance isn’t permanent. Sri Lanka has witnessed this exact pattern over decades - a continuous cycle where elites rise and fall, with weakening groups replaced by emerging ones. Sri Lanka’s political leaders have followed this historical pattern throughout. Power constantly shifts between different factions -- some lose control while others seize it. The successful ones are typically clever and cunning, using persuasive rhetoric, intelligence and innovative ideas to capture and hold power.

Society remains stable and prosperous when elite groups rotate power in a healthy way. But when they become isolated, incompetent, corrupt and change-resistant, revolutions follow, with new movements overthrowing the established order.

In August 2024, the NPP published a complete policy document outlining its plans for running the country. This foundation helped them win the September 2024 election, bringing Anura Kumara Dissanayake to the presidency. Their success continued in November 2024 when the NPP won 70% of parliamentary seats. Yet the local government voting results suggest growing public uncertainty about whether the administration will fulfill its policy promises or slide back into the same inactive and unaccountable behaviour that marked earlier governments. As the NPP President completes his first year in office, we examine progress made on major policy commitments. The assessment focuses on crucial areas that fueled the NPP’s political rise. 

The NPP’s pledge to eliminate the executive presidency has yet to materialise, leaving President Dissanayake with continued executive authority. Although officials consistently emphasise constitutional revision as a key objective, the absence of a publicly disclosed timeframe raises questions about implementation progress.

Political Financing of Corruption

Political parties regularly receive dubious funding through campaign donations and event sponsorships, yet only individual politicians must publicly declare personal assets. All political parties urgently need to disclose their financial holdings and income sources. This problem’s scale became clear after the January 2015 government change, when money suddenly flooded party accounts. Candidates dramatically outspent rivals in the following general election. The first Treasury bond scandal broke in February 2015, with investigations revealing that the UNP and members from various parties significantly benefited from bond scammers’ illegal proceeds.

Exact amounts received by major parties as campaign funding remain unknown and unaccounted for.

The NPP created a divide between ordinary citizens and the ruling elite, displaying populist characteristics that scholars recognise. While not deliberately adopting populist theory, their methods clearly demonstrated such patterns. This strategy succeeded by offering voters a genuine alternative to traditional politics. Positioning themselves as outsiders fighting an entrenched system, the NPP channeled widespread frustration with conventional parties. Recent Sri Lankan developments demonstrate populism’s revitalising impact. Unlike the SLPP’s ethnic approach, NPP populism targeted the political system as the enemy that stripped people’s sovereignty.

Government Actions and Contradictions

The NPP’s anti-establishment critique focued on two demands: ensuring political accountability through rule of law, and reducing the gap between rulers and the ruled - echoing 2022 protest demands.

The government recognises its legitimacy depends on addressing these demands. It launched extensive anti-corruption campaigns, prosecuting  powerful former figures for misappropriating public funds. Former president Ranil Wickremesinghe’s arrest marked a historic first in Sri Lankan history. Several prominent past government figures, including Namal Rajapaksa, face charges awaiting trial. The government introduced reforms targetting political privileges: slashing parliamentary pensions, reducing former presidents’ benefits, and converting ministerial residences to public use.

However, the strongest evidence of the JVP’s rightward shift is embracing business-friendly economics. On parliament’s first day, the government abandoned its election pledge to renegotiate the IMF bailout protecting the vulnerable. The government maintains  a policy of increasing the budget surplus fourfold from 0.6 to 2.3 percent of GDP, meaning higher taxes, utility rates and fuel prices, plus slashing public services - directly contradicting left-wing principles.

Particularly concerning are the government statements revealing troubling trends toward traditional JVP organisational control. Reports indicate parliamentary salaries flow directly to party coffers, creating financial dependency that eliminates independent thought within government ranks, transforming elected representatives into party puppets unable to represent constituents when interests conflict with party directives.

Democratic Progress Despite Limitations

Critics dismiss these actions as mere theatre that fails to transform the political system. However, even as symbolic gestures, they carry profound significance. These measures establish and reinforce the principle that democratic governance must serve public interests, not allow politicians to maintain privileged lifestyles disconnected from ordinary citizens.

Additional positive developments have emerged. The longstanding nexus between politics and organised crime has been decisively severed. Public perception generally views new government members as honest individuals operating with considerable integrity.

Substantial work remains to democratise the political system further. A new constitutional framework empowering citizens in decision-making and extending fundamental rights to socioeconomic spheres represents a vital necessity. Whether the government will pursue this direction remains uncertain. Nevertheless, most observers acknowledge the government’s relatively positive record in enhancing democratic governance quality --  a satisfactory, if not impressive, achievement.

Economic Challenges and Contradictions

The economy presents the government’s greatest dilemmas and contradictions. The inherited economic environment stems directly from the 2022 crisis consequences. A fundamental paradox emerges: while the crisis heightened democratic aspirations and anti-establishment sentiment, economic discourse shifted sharply rightward, particularly after Sri Lanka entered the IMF bailout program in April 2022. Anti-statist, libertarian perspectives dominated mainstream economic debates, attributing the crisis to excessive state intervention. The NPP assumed power with severely limited economic policy flexibility. The country operated under an IMF bailout program imposing stringent fiscal controls. Additionally, the previous Wickremesinghe administration had concluded a problematic debt restructuring agreement with international creditors, criticised for providing insufficient relief.

The government now embraces the IMF agreement and supports CEB restructuring—a key bailout condition. Previously, the JVP and its unions strongly opposed such reforms. Now these same JVP-aligned unions are protesting the government’s plans to break up the utility and introduce private investment to address chronic losses. The JVP historically used trade union influence to orchestrate strikes and disruptions against previous governments. The very forces they cultivated have now turned against them, creating a political boomerang effect.

The Populist Foundation

Anti-establishment sentiment anchored the NPP’s electoral strategy, effectively distinguishing them from both major parties by exposing their shared corruption. This message resonated across diverse constituencies.

The NPP constructed a political division between ordinary citizens and ruling elites, embodying populist movement characteristics. Though not deliberately employing populist theory, their methods clearly demonstrated such patterns. This approach succeeded by offering voters a genuine alternative to conventional politics. Positioning themselves as outsiders challenging entrenched systems, the NPP channeled widespread frustration with traditional parties, uniting disparate groups under collective rejection of the existing order while promising to represent “the people” against corrupt elites.

While the NPP has made notable progress in democratic governance and anti-corruption efforts, significant challenges remain. The party’s rightward economic shift and authoritarian internal control mechanisms raise concerns about its commitment to transformative change. With fundamental issues like constitutional reform, genuine economic justice, and meaningful reconciliation still unaddressed, Sri Lanka has a long way to go toward achieving the comprehensive transformation promised during the electoral campaign.

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