A conversation about the extraordinary political influence exerted in Sri Lanka by the newly re-elected president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, and his family. With the long civil war over, optimists hope Rajapaksa will use his formidable mandate to heal ethnic divisions and rebuild a shattered economy.
The president is a hero to many Sinhalese for overseeing the final, brutal vanquishing of an equally brutal military opponent, and many Tamils are fearful that Sinhalese euphoria will permeate the post-war phase, at their expense.