US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT1406

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. 
 
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TUELLER