National People’s Force presidential candidate Anura Dissanayake recently made it clear that his government wouldn’t perform miracles right out of the gate. Speaking at an artists’ conference in Colombo, Dissanayake admitted that instant success under his leadership is unlikely but stressed that change would come in due time.
“We’re not saying the country will suddenly transform overnight,” Dissanayake remarked. However, he voiced a rather nostalgic hope for the future—bringing back queues in front of cinema halls. “I hear that the oil and gas queues are over, but I still long to see a line in front of a cinema, people fighting to buy tickets or a novel,” he quipped, drawing laughs from the audience.
His message was clear: while immediate economic miracles may be out of reach, he envisions a future where the arts and culture once again thrive in the daily lives of Sri Lankans.
