Saving the country from the Sri Lankan economic collapse will be the heavy task of the new Prime Minister whom President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has just appointed, after several days of deadly demonstrations, which have left at least nine dead and more than 200 injured since Monday, May 9.
Ranil Wickremesinghe is not a new face in Sri Lankan politics. He has served as Prime Minister no less than five times in the past.
His mission will be to form a unity government that enjoys the support of all parties present in Parliament, which has 225 deputies. It will not be easy, since the main opposition party, the SJB, is fractured. Initially approached as PM, the leader of this party refused the post – he calls first and foremost for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Only a dozen elected officials from the SJB have signaled their support for Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The 73-year-old lawyer is seen as a pro-Western reformist and supporter of free trade. In October 2018, his surprise and controversial dismissal plunged the country into a political crisis. After seven weeks of political chaos, he had finally regained his post.
This time, Ranil Wickremesinghe must pull the country out of the abyss. The economy is on the verge of collapse. irremediable “warned the head of the Central Bank. The country urgently needs dollars to import fuel, medicine and food.
► Read also In Sri Lanka, explosive situation between security forces and demonstrators