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Sirisena-Mahinda talks to form grand coalition
President Maithripala Sirisena and his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa met this week to discuss a potential caretaker grand coalition government. A fruition of the talks could see Rajapaksa emerging as the new Prime Minister.
In Beruwala, yesterday, Rajapaksa spoke of a caretaker government, but said it would never be with those “who sold the country”. The talks come on the initiative of President Sirisena and were held at the residence of S.B. Dissanayake, a former Minister and a member of the 15-member SLFP rebel group.
As part of the dialogue, Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to take over the leadership of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). The party’s ideologue and strategist Basil Rajapaksa was also at the talks.
The next round is expected to be in two weeks – after Sirisena returns from two overseas visits. He leaves on Tuesday for Seychelles on a three-day trip. After his return to Sri Lanka, he is also due to travel to Poland.