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PM to reflect; polls unlikely
Prime Minister Ranil Wickreme-singhe will reflect over the weekend on future strategy of his fledgling government following this week's major setback in the rejection of its moves to clip the President's wings with regard to her powers to dissolve Parliament.

He has distanced himself from sections of his ministers who are threatening snap general elections and engaging in a confrontation course with President Chandrika Kumaratunga, sources close to him said yesterday.

The Prime Minister has dismissed moves to cut monies to the President through Parliament in a step towards frustrating the Executive, and indicated that a general election at this stage is only one option, but also that it is an option that could disrupt the peace process his Government is committed to.

Two of his major allies, the Muslim Congress and the Tamil National Alliance have expressed their unhappiness over elections.

An SLMC statement yesterday quoted its leader Rauff Hakeem as saying that he told a meeting of the party's district organizers that he was doubtful if there were fresh elections that the SLMC would return with the same strength to have the same bargaining power.

TULF senior vice president Joseph Pararajasingham said that neither his party nor the TNA wanted an election at this stage because the peace process was at a crucial stage.

The PA says that calling for elections is in the hands of the President - not the UNF government.

Premier Wickremesinghe has said that any cut in monies to the President would be in the overall budgetary context of cuts to all ministers and ministries. These sources said that the Prime Minister was studying the Supreme Court verdict that struck down the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, especially its references to the controversial "conscience clause", with a view to re-presenting it in a different way, or dropping the whole issue and adopting a different political strategy.

He is reported to have conceded to confidantes that the December 5 deadline after which the UNF Government believed the President would dissolve Parliament was made into an unnecessary "monster".

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