It will be difficult to fulfill the difficult promises of Sri Lanka's new leader

Stunning electoral victories by a new left-leaning president and his party have changed Sri Lanka's political landscape, but the island's new cash-strapped rulers are quickly realizing that campaign promises are easier said than done.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake A remarkable victory In the presidential elections held in September, this was followed by a landslide victory for his National People's Power coalition in the parliamentary elections.

As the new year begins, he and his supporters want this to be a turning point for the country, which is trying to recover from a devastating economic crisis and years of misrule.

However, they have limited room to maneuver to deliver on their pledges to voters, who have high expectations from the new government.

Since the financial collapse in 2022, the economic recovery has been fragile and Sri Lanka is far from out of the crisis.

The NPP won 159 seats in the 225-member parliament in November – an unprecedented two-thirds majority – giving Dissanayake a sweeping mandate to push through major economic and constitutional reforms.

However, even as the results came in, the new president had to prepare for a meeting with a visiting delegation from the International Monetary Fund, with whom the outgoing government negotiated a $2.9bn (£2.31bn) rescue package. .

The IMF deal became controversial because it led to severe austerity measures, higher taxes and cuts in energy subsidies – which hit the general public hard.

During the election campaign, Dissanayake and his coalition promised to renegotiate parts of the IMF agreement.

But in his speech to the new parliament, he reversed his position.

“The economy is in a state where it cannot withstand the slightest shock… There is no room for mistakes,” Dissanayake said.

He added, “This is not the time to discuss whether the terms (of the International Monetary Fund loan) are good or bad, and whether the agreement is in our favor or not… The process took about two years, and we cannot start over.” “

The overwhelming ruling by voters in favor of the New Patriotic Party is seen as the culmination of a popular uprising sparked by the economic crisis. Uprising He overthrew President Gotabaya Rajapaksa In the summer of 2022, when Sri Lanka ran out of foreign currency and had difficulty importing food and fuel.

The country had previously declared bankruptcy after failing to pay its foreign debt amounting to about $46 billion. India, China and Japan are among the countries that have provided billions of dollars in loans.

The recent election results also reflect people's anger at established political parties – former presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe and others – for their failure to deal with the economic collapse.

Veteran political analyst Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda told the BBC: “One of Dissanayake's priorities will be to provide some economic support to the people due to excessive taxes and the cost of living crisis. Debt management is another big challenge.”

So far, the massive political changes don't seem to have had any impact on people like Niluka Dilrukshi, a mother of four who lives in a suburb of the capital, Colombo. Her husband works for a daily wage, and the family still finds it difficult to manage their affairs.

BBC I talked to her About the rising costs of living in January 2022, months before the outbreak of mass protests.

She said that at that time her family was eating only two meals a day instead of three, and they were serving only vegetables and rice to their children due to the high cost of fish and meat.

“We are still struggling to make ends meet and nothing has changed,” says Ms. Dilrukshi. “The price of rice, the staple food, has increased further. We are not getting any help from the government.”

People like her want the new government to take immediate steps to reduce the cost of essentials. Sri Lanka is an import-dependent country, and needs foreign currency to bring in items such as food and medicine.

Currently, Colombo can maintain its currency reserves because it has suspended its debt payments.

Experts point out that the real struggle will likely begin in the next three or four years when it begins to pay off its debts.

People's perception of President Dissanayake and his new government could change if there is no clear change in their standard of living in the next two or three years.

“The people have given it a huge mandate,” says Professor Oyangoda. “The IMF should respect that by allowing it to provide some assistance to the people through social welfare programmes.”

Dissanayake also has to contend with India and China, which are vying for influence in Sri Lanka, both of which have invested heavily in recent years.

“Both India and China will try to bring Colombo under their sphere of influence,” says Professor Oyangoda. “I believe the new government’s foreign policy will be very pragmatic without siding with anyone.”

In a delicate diplomatic maneuver, Dissanayake chose Delhi as his first official destination abroad in mid-December. During the visit, India promised to supply liquefied natural gas to Sri Lankan power stations and work to connect the electricity networks in the two countries in the long term.

China's growing foothold in Sri Lanka, especially calls by Chinese “research” ships to ports on the island – very close to India's southern tip – has raised concerns in Delhi.

“I have given assurances to the Prime Minister of India that we will not allow our territory to be used in any way in a way that is detrimental to India's interests,” Dissanayake said after talks with Narendra Modi.

Delhi will no doubt be happy with these assurances, but Dissanayake will find out what Beijing expects when he visits China in mid-January.