Come again?

UNTIL this year Mahinda Rajapaksa had seemed invincible: a war-winning president who had changed the constitution to give himself the right to stand for unlimited terms. Then in January, to almost universal surprise, he was beaten at the polls by a renegade member of his own party. It was a stunning defeat for Mr Rajapaksa, who was expected to take it as his cue to retire. Instead, in the six months since Maithripala Sirisena took office as president, Mr Rajapaksa has emerged as his principal headache.

On Wednesday he blossomed into a throbbing migraine. With an elaborately staged appearance broadcast from his hometown, Mr Rajapaksa (pictured above) declared his intention to re-enter politics. He says he will lead his loyalists in a snap general election called for August 17th. On the face of it Mr Rajapaksa, the president of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015, would enter parliament as an ordinary MP. His aim of course would be to become prime minister, but it is unclear how he could achieve that. At the moment he has fans, but no party.