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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Living Travel Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Dramatic start to Kuwaiti poll
By Donald BensonThe campaign for the new National Assembly elections in Kuwait got off to a dramatic start. The government ordered a crackdown on unlicensed Islamic charities which it accused of funneling funds collected for Kosovo refugees into electioneering. It then turned on the tribal groups who were allegedly holding primaries in their own areas in flagrant disregard of the electoral law. Government reaction was heavy-handed. People were detained, roughed up and fined heavily. This drew applause from the democrats and their allies but alienated the tribals. The shock came when ex-speaker of the Assembly Ahmad Saadoun said there was evidence that the government was itself guilty of election irregularities. Supposedly "special funds" were available to candidates friendly to the government. The government was seen to have mishandled both incidents and thus soured the campaign atmosphere while casting doubt on its own impartiality.
The effect of these early skirmishes on politicking was dramatic. The cacophony of voices raised from all sides of the political spectrum against the government soon began to sing in unison at least on certain core issues such as the misuse of public funds, the economy, unemployment, housing, health-care and subsidies. Such harmony is unlikely to last. If the parties could agree on a common legislative agenda that would be a challenge the government could not ignore.
Kuwait has three main political groups: the Islamists who regard themselves as the "opposition" and harass the government on religious and social issues whenever the opportunity arises; the democrats/liberals who cooperate with the government to resist Islamist trends; and the independents. The government weaves and dives between the groups garnering support where it can.
According to Shemlan Al-Issa, a political scientist from Kuwait University, the government does not always utilise the cooperation of the democrats in the best way. Instead it "continues to compromise with the Islamist groups because, unlike the democrats and liberals, they do not seek to modernise the country".
Candidates from all sides are demanding greater control of the budget and national expenditure and question why there is such a large budget deficit. Government plans to introduce health charges and reduce subsidies on water and electricity have met with incomprehension by the public. Government attempts at explanation in the Assembly sound unconvincing to a body that is simultaneously probing the misallocation of funds in the budget and the misappropriation of Kuwaiti assets abroad. The Islamist groups protest welfare cuts of any kind claiming that "corruption" is the cause of the deficit. The hard-nosed democratic and liberal groups question the government's fiscal prudence and call for reforms that would lead to greater transparency.
There is general agreement on what are the main issues but heated debate about the means needed to tackle them. Realists within the different parties admit that balancing the budget is the priority. Government expenditure on salaries -- most citizens are government employees -- plus the generous cradle-to-grave welfare system constitute a colossal burden on the exchequer. Unemployment has reached disturbing proportions especially among university graduates but few will admit, as did Al-Awadi, ex-minister of planning, that the work ethic is poor or that vacancies remain unfilled because many Kuwaitis lack either the skills or the incentive to fill them. Bickering on the issue has produced friction between the government and the Assembly to no avail.
Ali Al-Baghli, a former MP and ex-minister of petroleum, says the key to more effective government is in better relations between the executive and legislative branch.
This seems unlikely given the divisions within the Assembly and the atmosphere of distrust between the government and the people's representatives. The Islamist groups, who regard the recent Amiri decree to enfranchise women as illegal, fear that the government will attempt to rule by decree. Candidates of all shades want to see the parliamentary system strengthened with better qualified MPs and ministers with specialist qualifications. All complain of the use of "influence" within the system and the existence of corruption among government officials with the Islamists calling for severe penalties and exposure of offenders.
The National Assembly consists of 50 members but the ministerial council is chosen by the prime minister who is the crown prince and part of the ruling family. The ministers, in theory, report to the Assembly but in practice they conduct their affairs with a reasonable degree of autonomy. The only curb on their freedom is the occasional "grilling" or cross-questioning they receive in the Assembly. MPs regard this as their only brake on ministerial decisions. Even then the government can and does transfer a minister to another portfolio to get him off the hook.
The greatest common cause of discontent with the government is the economy currently in the doldrums. Most big government contracts go to the large Kuwaiti companies which have capital, international exposure and experience of the global market. The fact that these companies are owned by the ruling family's closest allies -- the large merchant families -- suggests that the economy has been stitched up. The small entrepreneurs, particularly the landlords and shopkeepers, are the most vociferous critics of government policies because they see their share of the national cake shrinking.
There is a broad consensus among Islamists and democrats that the government needs to be more accountable to the Assembly and more sensitive to the needs of the people. Both aims are unachievable until there is a coalition within the Assembly organised around a coherent programme of administrative reform and a legislative timetable aimed at dealing with the issues that concern the ordinary voter. To many, this degree of unity and organisation seems a distant dream.
