PARLIAMENT VS. THE PRIME MINISTER: GRILLING FORCES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001406

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2015
TAGS: KISL KDEM PREL KU NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT VS. THE PRIME MINISTER: GRILLING FORCES
CABINET RESHUFFLE, PM THREATENS ASSEMBLY DISSOLUTION

REF: A. KUWAIT 1373

B. KUWAIT 1349

Classified By: CDA Matthew Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary and Comment: Caving in to pressures
heightened by the grilling and proffered resignation of
Health Minister Dr. Mohammed Al-Jarallah on April 2, the
Government this week replaced two Ministers, and pondered a
third, all in four days. These actions were followed by a
statement issued April 6 interpreted by many as a precursor
to the dissolution of the National Assembly. The turmoil
comes as the country remains seized with debate over an
expected National Assembly vote extending political rights to
women, an issue upon which Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah
Al-Ahmed has staked his credibility and that of his
government. Should the Amir call for dissolution of the
National Assembly, a Constitutional prerogative last
exercised in 1999, it is expected that Amiri decrees granting
women voting rights, permitting women to register to vote and
calling for new elections will be issued forthwith,
effectively bringing about a GOK fait accompli. That the PM
would risk losing face replacing Ministers, however, may
indicate that he intends to leave the National Assembly as
is, meeting the challenge posed by unruly MPs with a new
cabinet, hand-selected for loyalty, reshuffled on a piecemeal
basis. The dissolution of the National Assembly is a valid
constitutional right that poses no threat to Kuwait's
democratic rule. Such action is fully consistent with
Kuwait's constitution. End Summary and Comment.

New Information Minister Already Threatened With Grilling
-------------- --------------


2. (C) New Information Minister Dr. Anas Al-Rasheed took
office April 2, filling the vacancy left when the former
minister, Shi'ite Mohammed Abulhassan, resigned rather than
face grilling in January 2005. Upon Al-Rasheed's assumption
of office, Islamist MP Faisel Al-Mislem publicly admonished
him, threatening a grilling over the same issues that
contributed to Abulhassan's downfall: allowing coed public
concerts and approving books deemed offensive to Islamists.
While Al-Rasheed's appointment was publicly praised (ref. B),
privately, Public Affairs contacts questioned the wisdom of
the appointment. Neither an Islamist nor a Shiite ,
Al-Rasheed enters office without a pre-existing political
constituency, earning PM Shaykh Sabah no political capital
and making his position potentially untenable should grilling
threats arise again. (Note: Kuwait has traditionally had at
least one Shiite in the cabinet. Abulhassan's resignation
left the cabinet without a Shiite member for the first time
since 1962. End Note.)

Minister of Finance Resignaton Accepted, New Minister Named
-------------- --------------


3. (C) More than a year after it was tendered, PM Shaykh
Sabah Al-Ahmed accepted the resignation of Finance Minister
Mahmoud Al-Nouri on April 3, announcing his replacement,
former Director of the Kuwait Fund for Arab and Economic
Development (KFAED) Bader Mishari Al-Humaidhi the same day.
(ref. A) The replacement of the Finance Minister --
ostensibly for health reasons -- was seen by many as a defeat
for the Prime Minister, who had stubbornly refused to accept
Al Nouri's resignation following the latter's March 2004
parliamentary grilling, despite Al-Nouri's wishes to the
contrary. The new Minister was reportedly also threatened
with a grilling on his first day in office.

Call for Vote of No Confidence Fells Health Minister
-------------- --------------


4. (C) Making good on prior threats, tribal, Islamist MP
Daifalla Buramiya grilled Health Minister Mohammed
Al-Jarallah during the April 4 session of the National
Assembly, precipitating a call by a diverse coalition of 10
MP's for a vote of no-confidence against the Minister. The
grilling, in which charges of negligent management, poor
security and deteriorating public health were leveled,
carried sectarian overtones; Buramiya's Awazim tribe and the
Parliament's Shiite bloc both find themselves without a
Minister from their ranks. All five Shiite MPs were among
those who called for a vote of no confidence. Calling the
political climate "very negative" and accusing his critics of
"factional intentions," Al-Jarallah tendered his resignation
as Minister of Health in the early hours of April 5.
Speculation among Embassy contacts indicates that Shi'ite MP
Yousef Al-Zalzalah may be a leading candidate to fill this
vacancy should the PM accept the resignation.

Al-Sabah Hold Ministerial Meeting; PM Admonishes Assembly
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Following widespread speculation in April 5 local
dailies that the Prime Minister was on the verge of
dissolving the National Assembly, contacts close to the
ruling family told Emboffs that the Prime Minister had called
an emergency meeting of senior Al-Sabah family members that
same evening at his home. The following day, the Prime
Minister issued a statement criticizing MP's for "undermining
cooperation between the Legislative and the Executive
powers," citing "the style followed in withdrawing confidence
from the Minister of Health," whom the PM defended in a 2004
grilling. Shaykh Sabah called on Members of Parliament to
practice their constitutional rights, "far away from these
negative practices for the sake of the supreme interest of
the country.

PM's Power Questioned; Parliament's Fate Uncertain
-------------- --------------


6. (C) Embassy contacts reported that the resignation of
Al-Jarallah exposed a new weakness of PM Shaykh Sabah in his
dealings with the National Assembly. One year ago, a
no-confidence vote against Finance Minister Al-Nouri seemed
certain after a marathon grilling, but his resignation was
averted by Shaykh Sabah's intervention. This time, contacts
said, Shaykh Sabah wanted to save Al-Jarallah but could not.
The flurry of ministerial appointments indicates that Shaykh
Sabah does not intend to dissolve the current National
Assembly. Embassy contacts, however, suggest that Shaykh
Sabah acts impulsively and may consider the resignation of
the Health Minister a challenge and lash out against the
Assembly by arranging for its dissolution.

*********************************************
Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/

You can also access this site through the
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website
*********************************************
TUELLER