July 10, 2010, 12:00 pm

Hints of the possibility of an executive prime ministry, as opposed to the prevailing executive presidency, emerged yesterday following one-on-one talks between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, well informed sources said.

Wickremesinghe confirmed the meeting which he said will be followed-up on Monday when he will lead a UNP delegation for further talks with the president.

Asked what the meeting was about, Wickremesinghe said that “constitutional affairs’’ had been discussed adding that he had told the president that he could not commit the UNP to any positions on his own and asked that Rajapaksa meets a party delegation.

“We’ll be meeting at 5 p.m. on Monday,’’ he told The Sunday Island.

Political observers regarded yesterday’s developments as a hopeful move towards consensus although there did not appear to be agreement on contentious issues like the 17th amendment on which the UNP’s Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya is particularly keen.

The government’s position is that aspects of that amendment could be included in the constitution itself although it is unclear whether proponents of complying with the already enacted amendment will go along with any dilution.

At a meeting with several newspaper editors at his Cambridge Place office last week, Wickremesinghe said his party had a duty to cooperate with efforts aimed at forging constitutional consensus, but stressed that an executive prime ministerial model must be carefully studied.

“You might get a model worse than the executive presidency,’’ he warned.

Wickremesinghe also said that the president was in talks with the TNA which sources close to the ruling hierarchy said had been proceeding satisfactorily. Reports from New Delhi, where a six-member TNA delegation led by Mr. R. Sampanthan met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders, also appeared hopeful with Singh urging the TNA to “be pragmatic and move on.’’

“If the government and the TNA reach an agreement, we’ll join to complete the rest of the work,’’ Wickremesinghe told the editors expressing the view that if the Tamils “feel there is no hope for a settlement’’ there would be trouble – not immediately but some years down the road.

“We’ll join once the government and the TNA decide on the parameters,’’ he said.

He also said that all opposition parties agree that removing the two-term limit on the presidency was not a healthy sign. This would increase the power of the president.

“We don’t want to be negative,’’ he said. “Let us take the (constitution making) process forward. We’re willing to engage with the government.’’