Three 'As' to assess a tyro administration

IS the National People’s Power government really trying to keep its campaign-trail opposition-mode promises? Or has the NPP given up the ghost of manifestoes past in the face of the more nuanced reality it has encountered as a government?

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Today, we suggest a ‘three-body problem’ type of lens through which to observe the incumbent administration. Three bodies are notoriously harder to predict in terms of speed and position in space compared to simply two, which interact arithmetically; but three ups the ante to the geometric.

This means that not only must the aspirations of the people and their elected representatives interact with the actualities of the real world. But also contend with the largely anecdotal narrative that competes with the other two levels of reality. And perhaps the truth of the matter - the truth be told — lies in some indeterminate dimension among the ‘Aspirational’, the ‘Actual’, and the ‘Anecdotal’.

The aspirational (what was envisioned by the party and expected by the people in the main)

A new legitimacy for political representation based on competent professional administrators rather than re-electing the foul usual suspects who had failed themselves and their electorates many times over

An ethos of governance and civil social activity cleansed of the bane of corruption

™ The practical embrace of the broad multi-dimensional diversity of the entire population of Sri Lanka in such a manner as to espouse a sincere and deep-rooted Pluralism, Inclusivity, Equity (possibly no longer ‘PIE’ in the sky, as the JVP-led NPP had no experience in duplicity or dealership.)

=This would potentially lead to the emergence of a new national identity that prioritised the national interest while eschewing the culture of ‘patriotic’ nation-building, appeals to militarised authoritarianism, crony capitalism and geopolitical gamesmanship

mOther salutary tangibles that would accrue to the national transformation project — such as a dynamic and honest set