• The new Cabinet is yet another sign that the Rajapaksas are not letting the country go out of their grip. It is meant to be a rubber stamp of this familial hold of unhinged power in the absence of public approval
• By appointing a new Cabinet, the president did not create political stability, he made things worse. Out of his self-serving calculations, he just threw a firecracker into the tinderbox of Sri Lankan politics

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president who is facing mass protests demanding his and his government’s resignation, yesterday appointed a new Cabinet, showing scant regard for public mood. That 17-member new Cabinet is a sham, devoid of legitimacy, and would be a source of further political instability.

With the elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa remaining as the prime minister, and Gotabaya hanging onto the presidency against the mounting calls, the Rajapaksas appear as the usurpers of political office, rather than the elected representatives of the public. So would be the members of the new Cabinet.   The rest of the world should view them as such, and deal with them accordingly.

The new Cabinet is yet another sign that the Rajapaksas are not letting the country go out of their grip. It is meant to be a rubber stamp of this familial hold of unhinged power in the absence of public approval. Yet, that feigned sense of control over the nation is misleading and hollow. In reality, though, the extended family of Rajapaksas are so loathed and discredited to the extent that Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been forced to vacate his Mirihana residency.

First, Gotabaya expects the new Cabinet to provide a semblance of legitimacy and coherence to the government, which previously saw the mass resignations of Cabinet ministers. That could also soothe the concerns of many government MPs who are on the fence and are contemplating jumping the sinking ship. (However, this can play out the other way with many members, who no longer have the perks of Cabinet Ministers being incentivized to pole-vault).