The Easter Bombings Didn’t Rescue the Rajapaksas

Kapil Komireddi has written an interesting New York Times op-ed — with poignant quotes — about Sri Lanka’s presidential election and the Rajapaksa family’s return to power. Nonetheless, it’s inaccurate to suggest that the Rajapaksas “appeared poised for obsolescence” after the country’s political crisis last year.

The Rajapaksas were not “rescued” by the Easter bombings, as he asserts. Rather, Gotabaya Rajapaksa probably would have won the presidency even if the Easter attacks never took place. He certainly would have been favored to do so.

The previous government performed terribly and struggled to get anything done. The bombings made Rajapaksa’s candidacy that much stronger, but the desire for tougher, more decisive leadership in Sri Lanka was growing long before Easter of this year.