{"id":157615,"date":"2026-08-01T11:13:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T18:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=157615"},"modified":"2026-08-01T11:13:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T18:13:46","slug":"unity-is-the-strength-of-a-reform-government-a-lesson-from-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/08\/01\/unity-is-the-strength-of-a-reform-government-a-lesson-from-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Unity Is the Strength of a Reform Government \u2013 A Lesson from History"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr. Sarath Obeysekera<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Governments are rarely defeated by their opponents alone. More often, they are weakened by divisions from within <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are examples in Sri Lanka in the past<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bolshevik Revolution succeeded because its leaders were united in achieving a common objective. Lenin, Trotsky and others worked together to overthrow the old regime and defend the revolution during its formative years. It was only after Lenin\u2019s illness and death that deep divisions among the leadership intensified, leading to a destructive struggle for power. Whatever one\u2019s opinion of Soviet history, one lesson remains clear: internal discord can derail even the most powerful political movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka should reflect on that lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National People\u2019s Power (NPP) Government came to power with an overwhelming public mandate to transform the country. Millions of Sri Lankans voted not merely for individuals but for a promise to eradicate corruption, strengthen institutions, revive the economy, and restore confidence in public administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country is only beginning to emerge from an unprecedented economic crisis. Debt restructuring, attracting foreign direct investment, creating employment, modernising industries, strengthening vocational education, and reforming public institutions require consistency and stability. This is not the time for avoidable public divisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recent debate concerning proposals relating to the retirement age of judges has generated considerable discussion. It is entirely legitimate for lawyers, constitutional experts and citizens to express differing legal opinions. Indeed, healthy democracies depend on informed debate. However, when individuals holding influential positions within or closely associated with the governing party publicly challenge major policy decisions before internal mechanisms have been exhausted, questions inevitably arise regarding unity, discipline and collective responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not an argument against freedom of expression. Nor is it a suggestion that members should blindly accept every decision of the leadership. Democracies thrive on constructive criticism. Policies become stronger when subjected to rigorous examination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there is an equally important democratic principle: collective responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within every successful government, disagreements should first be debated frankly in cabinet meetings, party committees and policy forums. Once a decision has been reached through democratic discussion, those entrusted with implementing that decision have a responsibility to preserve public confidence while continuing to seek improvements through established channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The public judges governments not only by the quality of their policies but also by their ability to govern with coherence and purpose. Investors observe political stability before committing billions of dollars. International development partners seek predictability. Civil servants require clear direction. The business community values certainty over confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s greatest challenge today is not political rhetoric but economic transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nation needs large-scale industrial investment, expansion of the marine and offshore engineering sectors, modern vocational education, export-oriented manufacturing, energy security, digital transformation, and the development of Trincomalee and other strategic regions into engines of growth. None of these objectives can be achieved if political energy is consumed by unnecessary internal conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government was elected to govern, not to become distracted by internal disagreements played out in the public arena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political maturity demands balancing two equally important values: the freedom to question and the responsibility to unite behind decisions once they have been democratically reached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History teaches us that reform movements lose momentum when internal divisions overshadow their national mission. Sri Lanka cannot afford such a distraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country stands at a critical crossroads. The mandate given by the people is too valuable to squander. If the Government remains united, disciplined and focused on delivering results, it has a genuine opportunity to reshape Sri Lanka\u2019s future. If internal divisions become the dominant narrative, that historic opportunity may gradually slip away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unity is not the enemy of democracy. When combined with openness, accountability and respect for differing views, it becomes the foundation upon which lasting national progress is built.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regards

Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dr. Sarath Obeysekera Governments are rarely defeated by their opponents alone. More often, they are weakened by divisions from within  There are examples in Sri Lanka in the past The Bolshevik Revolution succeeded because its leaders were united in achieving a common objective. Lenin, Trotsky and others worked together to overthrow the old regime […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-157615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sarath-obeysekera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157615"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157616,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157615\/revisions\/157616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}