Sri Lankan politics is a cosy world, and nothing embodies it better than the presence of the Rajapaksa family at its top. This band of brothers combine feudalism in politics and neoliberalism in economics.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa swept to victory in the 2019 presidential election, having previously served in the government of his older brother Mahinda. He immediately appointed Mahinda prime minister. Two other brothers, Chamal (former speaker of the House) and Basil (former finance minister), ensure a clubbable atmosphere in the island’s parliament. But these days Sri Lanka is showing definite signs of Rajapaksa fatigue – as runaway debt, inflation and inequality portend a generalized economic collapse in the country. Demands for Gotabaya’s resignation have recently echoed through the streets of Colombo. Mahinda has already been sacrificed as the Rajapaksas desperately try to cling to their power.
