Writing on the landmark hundredth day of the new government's reign, The Economist said it had wasted the period, and that President Maithripala Sirisena has "a long way to go" to fulfil his promise to build a "new country".
The Economist highlighted the lack of power President Sirisena has within the government, which has blamed failure to fulfil pledges on divisions in the coalition, but also pointed out the strength of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
"His morale is high, lifted by queues of fawning fans who visit his village home. Many are provided with transport to his increasingly frequent public events. The media give him plenty of attention. His extended family still wields clout, despite the arrest by financial police on April 22nd of Basil Rajapaksa, one of his brothers, who used to be in charge of the economy," the paper said.
"On April 21st legislators handed a petition to Parliament’s Speaker. Signed by 113 of them, it demanded the resignation of an official from an anti-bribery commission who had dared to summon the former president to give evidence. The petition carried a symbolic message: it would take only as many MPs to bring an impeachment motion against Mr Sirisena, should they wish to. The Speaker would probably not object if they did so: he is another brother of Mr Rajapaksa."
See full article here.
Much was done in 100 days, including gaining trust of international community - President Sirisena (23 April 2015)
Lack of progress by new government disproportionately affects Tamil community - Sri Lanka Campaign (23 April 2015)