The Facts
Following a landslide victory in the snap parliamentary elections last week, Sri Lank's Marxist-leaning Pres. Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed a new 21-member cabinet.
While the Constitution requires a 30-member cabinet, Dissanayake, whose National People's Power (NPP) Party won 159 of the 225 parliamentary seats, is part of the president's pledge to streamline governance. He's also promised to create a new constitution.
The Spin
Sri Lanka's leftist political movement has been struggling to gain power for over half a century, and the NPP has finally given people hope for a recent win and offers hope for a fresh, positive future. While critics claim the incoming government is inexperienced, the truth is that integrity, political will, and commitment matter more. These appointees are also professionals who will base their government policies on expertise and science.
While it's completely understandable for the people to want sytemic change, the NPP's marxist ideas are the exact reasons Sri Lanka is facing unemployment and debt issues. The economy, which has been crushed by these policies and the poorly negoiated IMF bailout deal, needs to be saved through growth, not contraction. Hopefully, the people will realize this one day and shift their support to the SJB Party instead.