5th Column

"Thaaththa?" Bindu Udagedera asked, "did the whole Cabinet of ministers change suddenly?"
"No..." Percy Udagedera said, rather puzzled, "certainly not after those three ministers were sacked..."
"Then," Bindu asked, "did the Sigiriya frescoes suddenly change?"
"Now, don't be silly, Bindu," Percy advised, "the Sigiriya frescoes have been the same for so many centuries..."
"Then," Bindu wanted to know, "do hungry lions suddenly become tame and fall asleep?"
"I don't think so," Percy said, "but why are you asking all these strange questions?"
"Why, thaaththa," Bindu explained, "it is the Clown Prince..."
"Why, what about him?" Percy wanted to know.
"Why, thaaththa, it was only a few days ago that he was kicked out of the Cabinet by Mahinda maama..."
"But now Mahinda maama has decided to take him back..." Percy argued.
"But, thaaththa," Bindu countered, "he was calling the Cabinet a circus of Clowns just a few days ago..."
"If that is so, then we must consider him to be the biggest clown..." Percy suggested.
"Then thaaththa," Bindu recalled, "wasn't he also saying that as Minister of National Heritage all he had to do was to stare at the Sigiriya frescoes?" "Yes, he did say that..." Percy agreed, "and he also said that is why he did not want that job..."
"And now he says he is ready to accept the same job from Mahinda maama after making such a fuss..." Bindu declared. "Maybe he decided the Sigiriya frescoes were very interesting after all..." Percy said.
"But thaaththa," Bindu protested, "didn't he also say that he was like a sleeping lion who had just woken up and was ready to hunt his prey..."
"He did compare himself to a lion..." Percy remembered.
"And just when we thought he was beginning his hunt with that speech in Parliament, he seems to have put his tail between his legs and gone to sleep again..." Bindu observed.
"He certainly looks more like a meek lamb than like a lion now..." Percy agreed.
"But thaaththa," Bindu said, "his worst act was not accepting his ministerial post again..."
"What was it then?" Percy wondered. "Why, what would happen to the two other ministers who supported him and were also sacked? He deserted them, didn't he?" Bindu wanted to know. "Well," Percy said, "they will have to fend for themselves because the Clown Prince has abandoned them now..."
"At least," Bindu said, "they had the backbone to stand by their decision and face the consequences..."
"And," Percy added, "with friends like the Clown Prince, they certainly don't need any enemies..."
"So," Bindu said, "all this just goes to show that no one really keeps their word in politics..."
"Don't say that, Bindu," Percy advised, "there is at least one person who always keeps his word..."
"And who is that?" Bindu wanted to know.
"Why, Uncle Ranil..." Percy suggested.
"And when did he become known for keeping his promises?" Bindu queried, "I thought he always postponed doing anything at all..."
"Don't say that, Bindu," Percy advised, "why, remember, a few months ago he promised that he would have a UNP government in three months time..." "Surely, thaaththa," Bindu said, surprised, "that is the one promise he hasn't kept..."
"Why not, Bindu," Percy argued, "the Cabinet is now full of those who crossed over from the UNP and they have got all the top ministries; what more can they want?" Bindu thought about it for a while and then decided that Uncle Ranil had indeed kept his promise.