Our constitutional institutions are neither suspended nor absolute
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THIS situation cannot continue any longer, as the dangers for the state are greater than any governmental or parliamentary demands.
If the Council of Ministers believes that the National Assembly is deliberately not performing its role, this must be reported to the head of the state who has the authority to dissolve it.
And, if the legislators believe that the executive authority is unable to work and that its resignation is aimed to buy more time, then they should announce that.
However, if the constitutional institutions continue to be neither suspended nor absolute, then it is a dangerous matter for the future of the country and the people.
There is no doubt that the current crisis is not the first that Kuwait has ever faced. In the beginning of the constitutional work, that is, in the year 1964, Kuwait faced one of the most severe crises because it was a real time test for the new state of institutions, and the extent of their solidity.
Nonetheless, the crisis was overcome by the wit of the late Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem, who cut short his vacation in India, returned to the country, dismissed the government, and ordered the formation of another headed by the late Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad, in which he exempted four sheikh ministers.
At that time, he said the verses of poetry with which he began his speech at the opening of the first legislative term – “Affairs are handled by people of opinion if they are the right ones, or else affairs will end up in the hands of the wicked. Affairs of the people do not get resolved by people who have no leadership in them, and there is no leadership when the ignorant ones become leaders.”
It is true that this “government of the month” was a temporary solution to the crisis, but the speed of the decision saved Kuwait from many problems and consolidated its strength in facing major internal and external challenges.
Today, we need speed in decision-making, as regional and international events are rapid, and do not allow the luxury of reflecting on the calculations of special interests that are reflected in Kuwait, in which even dreams have vanished due to the many crises caused by personal quarrels.
The government is suspended, the parliament is suspended, and the citizen is confused and does not know his fate, while hopes for resolving this dilemma are fading, and people alone are left to pay the heavy price.
For more than five years, there has been no talk among Kuwaitis except for either the dissolution of the parliament or the departure of the government.
This is happening at a time when paralysis is pervading all sectors, and no one thinks of the young people who are frustrated and despairing. They are therefore obsessed with the idea of migration, especially those who have established small and medium enterprises but did not find the required support for them.
They hence preferred to flee to neighboring countries where they found all the facilities and excelled in them, making it seem as if Kuwait was abandoning its children.
This example and many other things that the country is suffering from must be in the minds of all officials. They should ask themselves – Are we living in our year? Are we a country for the future? Or are we living in the past?
What legacy will our current era leave behind? Will it be the bad reputation of a country that we did not know how to preserve? We must consider the fact that the world around us has changed, while we are alone living in crises that are of our own making.
Therefore, there must be a decision that takes us out of this whirlpool, as internal and regional events and challenges do not allow for the luxury of time.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
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