Sunday Times 2
The best-before reality
View(s):I am now well into my eighties, and—in common, I suppose, with most octogenarians—I need to take a few tablets every day to keep me alive and well. I now have not only tablets prescribed by my doctor to keep my blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes under control but also a few tablets that I buy “off the shelf” because I feel that these ABCs of vitamins are good for me.
Every time I get my tablets from the pharmacist, I make sure that the tablets he gives me are well within their expiry date. All medicines sold in Sri Lanka—unless, of course, they are medicines obtained for our hospitals by Keheliya Rambukwella—must have clearly marked on the packet the date by which these medicines should be used.
Even if one buys a packet of milk or a tub of yoghurt or even a bottle of katta sambol from the supermarket, they all have the date of expiry clearly marked on the label.
I once asked my pharmacist what the difference was between the notation ‘date of expiry’ and ‘best before date’ on these products. He laughed.
“Basically they mean the same thing,” he said. “But if you say ‘Date of expiry 31st March 2025’, the customer believes that after the first of April the tablets won’t work—but if the notice is couched in a less definite manner like ‘Best before 31st March’, many customers will use the tablets or the katta sambol for some time after the given date—especially if there are a few tablets still left in the box or if they get the product a bit cheaper than the original price!”
I was musing about this concept of dates of expiry and ‘Best before’ labels—and I was wondering whether this should not apply to our political leaders.
Take, for example, ex-President Ranil, who celebrated his 76th birthday this month. Admittedly he is still younger than Donald Trump, but at Ranil’s age he is older than most prime ministers and presidents of our times. As he clearly showed us during the past three years, he was a leader who was economically wise but politically foolish. Voted out at the last presidential election, is he ready to give up—or does he still retain that greed for power? Has he not realised that he is now past his Use-By Date?
Who knows?
What of young Sajith—the man in a hurry who broke away from Ranil’s United National Party (which is no longer united and no longer a party worth talking about) to form his Samagi Jana Balavegaya (which also now seems to have lost its Samagiya and no longer seems to be a Balavegaya of any force)? No less a personage than Imthiaz Bakeer Markar (a senior politician who has a well-deserved reputation for being able to speak eloquently in Sinhalese, Tamil AND English—unlike several of his party members who cannot speak sense in any language) decided to call it quits and resign as party chairman. Did Imthiaz feel that he had reached his ‘Use-By’ date—or that the party under its present leader had passed its ‘Best-Before’ date?
Who knows?
As for the other politician, Mahinda, who is even older than Ranil and who will in November this year celebrate his eightieth birthday, has he realised that his best days are behind him and that he has reached his date of expiry? Does he still want to cling to power, knowing that once he gives up, he will no longer have the sycophants and hangers-on that he still has?
Who knows?
We have seen on the world stage a leader like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe hanging on to office into his nineties—and also leaders like Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand and Justin Trudeau of Canada who did not wait to be told by their colleagues that they were no longer capable of commanding their loyalty. Both Jacinda and Justin went BEFORE they were pushed, at a time when they were still wanted by the people. They resigned from high office with people asking, ‘WHY are they leaving?’ – instead of hanging on until people started asking, ‘WHEN are they leaving?’
Unfortunately, politicians—unlike the packet of tablets or the bottle of katta sambol—do not come with a date of expiry clearly stamped on their label. Realising they have reached their ‘Use-By’ date is a matter only they can know—and come to terms with.
Sadly, the lure of high public office (like the monkey’s paw) is not something politicians would give up lightly.
So, will they realise their own inadequacy at this time—and gracefully ride off into the sunset?
Who Knows?