Untitled Document

Naming a clear successor to avoid infighting
In the Land of Never Return, Junius was discussing recent events in Paradise with his former colleagues...
"Well," Junius said, "my nephew has done better than we all thought he would..."
"I am not so sure though...", RP said.
"Why do you say that?" Lalith wanted to know.
"Well, whatever he does, it is Satellite who still has all the power..." Gamini said.
"Ah, yes" RP said, "and you must know how difficult it is to challenge a person in her office..."
"Yes" Lalith agreed, "we learnt it the hard away..."
"But don't you think that my nephew is doing to Satellite everything and more that I did to her mother?"
"What do you mean?" RP asked.
"Why, I crippled her politically for a long, long time..." Junius recalled.
"Yes," Gamini said, "that's exactly what he is doing by trying to prevent her from dissolving Parliament... "
"And that split their party with even the mother and son fighting each other..." Junius said.
"And even now," Lalith said, "the blues are likely to be split with between the brother and the southerner..."
"Of course, I used the divide and rule policy well with the blues well, offering the Crown Prince the Kalaweva seat uncontested..." Junius remembered.
"And now it looks like they are again trying to 'divide and rule' because they seem to be offering Richard something..." Gamini observed.
"Then," Junius recalled, "I joined forces with Thonda to keep the blues quiet..."
"And," RP pointed out, "your nephew has joined forces with Rauf to keep the blues quiet..."
"And he has joined forces with Thonda's grandson as well..." Lalith observed.
"And he is even investigating the assets of ministers of the previous regime like you did..." Gamini said.
"Well," Junius corrected him, "I didn't investigate ministers; I only investigated the Queen Bee..."
"Your nephew would have learnt that the hard way because he himself was investigated..." Gamini suggested.
"And now he is talking to the Tigers through a third party in a foreign country, just like I did in Thimphu..." Juinus pointed out.
"Yes," RP agreed, "your nephew does seem to be doing the same things that you did..."
"But there is an important difference..." Lalith said.
"What is that?" Junius wanted to know.
"When you did all those things, you were seen as a dictator trying to trample on other peoples' rights.." Lalith argued.
"Whereas when your nephew does these things he is seen as a gentleman trying to put things in order..." Gamini added.
"That," RP suggested, "is because for a long time he was seen as someone who couldn't get things done but instead waited for things to happen to him..."
"That's true..." Junius agreed, "and the story may be different if all of you were still in Paradise..."
"But it may not have benefited the greens..." Lalith said.
"Why do you say that?" Junius wanted to know.
"Why, " RP said, "if all of us were still in Paradise, we would have been fighting each other..."
"That is not unlikely...", Junius said "and that is why I am hoping that my nephew will also do something else..."
"What is that?" RP asked.
"Have a clear successor identified, so that there will be no infighting after him..." Junius said.
No one disagreed with that.

Back to Columns