The people of Sri Lanka have achieved what once seemed impossible, challenging the very notions of power that a few scoundrels made the people believe were unshakeable for the past 76 years. Through the force of the people’s will, you and your Party (the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna led National People’s Power) have risen to meet this historic moment. Congratulations.

You are now the ninth Executive President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, a country once known as the ‘pearl of the Indian Ocean’ and the ‘granary of the East’, celebrated for its lush greenery, smiles, beauty, history, and prosperity. She has always been regarded with admiration and love as ‘our motherland’ — a mother who bore us, nursed us, nourished us, and sustained us. But today, as you take charge of your office, you seem to have been handed over a country likened to "a child carried carefully across a swinging bridge."

This imagery (from German playwright Bertolt Brecht's play The Caucasian Chalk Circle) captures the reality of how, over the past seven decades, we have not only desecrated our motherland, literally and figuratively stripping her of dignity, and reducing her status from that of a revered mother to a vulnerable child. Nevertheless, it would have been easier for those in power to see her as a child than as a mother — because for them, exploiting a child would have been far less guilt-inducing than defiling a mother’s sanctity. Hence, we implore you to restore our motherland to her rightful place, reclaiming the pearl that has long been either stolen or squandered by those who failed to recognise its worth.

In that task, understand that you cannot please every citizen, every religion, every political party, or any other diverse community whatsoever. If you attempt to do so, you will be exhausted at the end of every day, and history may remember you as another President who tried to bite off more than he could chew. Instead, in your sailing, try not to lose sight of the lighthouse, your manifesto, the noble vision and the doable mission to which people have entrusted you: ‘A Rich Country and A Beautiful Life’. Therefore, lead with grace, integrity, authenticity, and humility — the qualities you seemed to have exceptionally grown in during the Election campaign, that you assured in your manifesto, and practiced from the moment of your historic 2024 victory to your swearing-in ceremony, and beyond.

Remember, achieving greatness is one thing; sustaining it throughout your Presidency is another. Take refuge in the beatitudes of gratitude, collaboration, and humility: gratitude - even to the least of the citizen who didn’t vote for you, collaboration - even with the worst political rivals and their best principles, practices, and strategies, and humility - even in cases when you must acknowledge your limitations. Just as paddy leaves bend to the ground when they become fruitful and abundant, your greatness will be reflected in how you embody these virtues and inspire others, starting from the second to the last citizen of the county, no matter who they are, where they are from, and what they do.

To achieve this, the following areas should be among your first priorities:

1. Security: Safeguarding the country’s autonomy, resources, and people’s diversity and unity within should be your immediate concern.
2. Economy: The true joy of your success will be in the satisfaction that comes from uplifting the most vulnerable, and not catering only to the rich and the powerful. Therefore, let the poorest citizens be your pulse and heartbeat when you make fiscal and administrative decisions. 
3. Education: As a long-term strategy, prioritise education to sustain and nurture the change that the country so desperately needs. This involves restructuring the school system, improving the curricula, fostering value based education, encouraging critical thinking, and opportunity and market based education for children and youth.

What lies before you is no easy task. However, amid your duties, remember to take care of yourself. Take some time out to be with yourself, to be close to nature, and to spend moments with your loved ones — better without the bodyguards around — so that you can refresh your perspectives. Most importantly, make it a priority to visit your mother regularly, even if it means rescheduling a meeting when she is most in need. Your mother, like the rest of the nation, deserves your time. Because she was once first is why today you stand as the first citizen of our motherland. 

Just as your mother deserves to be cherished, so does our motherland. During your Presidency therefore, work to make her (your mother/our motherland) into a queen. For the remainder of her life and throughout your term in office, let your mantra be: ‘make her rich and beautiful’. You need not adorn her with pearls, for if you lead with grace, integrity, authenticity, and humility, I am confident that her children — scattered both within and outside her — and your successors, will dress her in pearls themselves.

(The writer is a Jesuit priest who is currently reading for his Doctorate at the Creighton University, United States) 

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication