Now let us all get onto the real issue
The deed is done.
They have decided there will be elections. Mano and Malik may continue talking about what an enjoyable time they had trying to avoid them. But what kind of brainstorming would they have had trying to decide on this election? (Not Mano and Malik, I mean the President's inner-sanctum.) If they were talking of the probable issues -- bet on it -- somebody would have said "but these are the same issues that people voted on two years back?'' Peace, economy, corruption -- the people had voted on all these issues, so can we have an election without a fresh issue?

At this point they would have all put on their thinking caps and tried to think of a real fresh issue for the elections. But there was none. All the issues had been hacked, and there was no way that anybody could infuse these new polls with any fresh ideas in terms of what the people should vote for.

Until they got an idea.
They said "why it’s right under our nose.'' This was a defining moment in the campaign -- like some famous defining moments in election campaigns from various other countries. (Example: when Bill Clinton said when he was running for President that "it is the economy stupid,'' he defined that campaign by identifying the real issue that he was going to blast the opposition with.)

So, the President's election engineers said "we have that issue right under our nose.'' But, someone, we will hypothesise it was Mahinda Rajapakse for the moment, couldn't get it. "What's the issue?'' he may have asked, unbelieving.

"Let it be the election itself. Should it be held or not?'' they all said. And ever since that time, the script has followed exactly what was decided-on. All of them are crossing swords with each other these days, on television, at town meetings, at the Rotary club - - wherever - saying let the people decide, is this election necessary or not?

So all is fine then. For Sri Lanka one enormous problem is solved. There need not be any reason to have an election any more - - even if it is going to be a national poll every month. The election itself will be the issue. As long as the issue of the campaign is '' now folks, should this election be held or not?'' why can't we have elections every month or every week even, and live happily ever after?

The Prime Minister of course did his bit for this too, so who is the moping idiot who says there is no consensus politics in this land? He said he is not prepared to move an impeachment motion or anything like that to stop the President from dissolving parliament and having elections, because "that would have meant trouble for the country.'' So obviously he does not think this election is trouble for this country.

Billions on polling, uncertainty, stopped investment, withheld millions of aid, what more trouble can there be? But Ranil Wickremesinghe says there could be even more trouble than that-which is why he did not move for impeachment. So he just said "no trouble at all, please go ahead and have the polls. Make my day, punk.'' Hmm, makes me wonder what the hell he is complaining about now?

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