Astrology is the oldest political science, says The Man, swirling the ice in his glass. Kings and emperors, warlords and statesmen, always had their soothsayers.
Even today, our own government ministers consult astrologers before making decisions. Business tycoons plot takeovers based on planetary alignments. And the people? They look to the stars well before all else fails!
The banker buddy nods. Fair comment, he says, and therefore troubling. Because you’re suggesting that politicians are guided by the movements of, say, Jupiter and Mars rather than by sound economic policy…
Not entirely, says The Man. But politics and astrology do share a crucial truth: that the perception is the reality. If the people believe their leaders are blessed with lucky stars, that belief alone grants them power. Thus, to be true leaders of men, must they not be masters of the zeitgeist and the zodiac?
Well, says the banker buddy, if that is indeed the case, what does your horoscope say about your future in government? He’s referring to The Man’s recent consultation with the renowned west-coast astrologer Madam Moonbeam for advice on the best way forward.
The Man sips his drink. That, my friend, is the wrong question. It’s not about what the stars predict—it’s about what the people want to believe they predict.
The real skill is in reading their moods, their desires, their fears. In shaping their expectations before they even realise they have them. And which, in turn, shapes reality!
A cynical point of view, says the banker buddy, but sadly true. And yet you still talk about reforming parliament, changing the way governance is done. How does that fit into the grand cosmic scheme of things?
Ah, says The Man, that’s the real trick! Even the most hardened ‘realpolitik’ operator must have a vision. Not just raw ambition, but a narrative that gives the people hope for the future. Hope is a powerful force, my friend. Hope can move mountains!
And the hope is that Sri Lanka, though battered, is not broken. That its best minds—independent, expert, untainted by the rot of party politics—can help steer it forward. That ‘democratic realpolitik’ can also be honest, competent and, dare I say it, even ethical. That we can indeed turn this so-called ‘Paradise Lost’ into a ‘Paradise Regain’d’.
The banker buddy raises an eyebrow. And will the stars and the planets and the cosmos all align to help make this vision of yours a reality?
The Man raises his eyes to the heavens. The stars, he says, will do what the stars always do—shine down from above with supreme indifference. The real question is: what will we mere mortals down here on Earth read into them…
He drains his glass. But before all that, my friend, I must first secure my position in the political hierarchy. Then, and only then, can I even begin help rewrite the script of Sri Lanka’s tragicomic melodrama!
The banker buddy lifts his own glass in mock salute. To the stars, then. And to the men and women who claim to know what the future holds…