Waiting for Kuwait’s fourth state

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KUWAITIS have the right to feel bitter as a result of what they have endured in the past years. They also have the right to receive any change with caution, especially from the executive authority on which they rely to get them out of their current situation.

They hence see some signs of optimism in the new Cabinet, especially since the rate of change in it is about 80 percent, unlike what was usual in the previous Cabinets. There is no doubt that the personality of His Highness the Prime Minister is one of those signs.

He is known for his pursuit of reform. However, this cannot be achieved without bold laws and firm decisions that flow into the vision whose general outlines were set by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad in his supreme speech during the swearing-in ceremony and his speeches since the year 2022.

In recent years, there has been a feeling that the parliamentarians are the rulers. Events have shown that the country is ruled by 51 rulers, 50 of whom are in the National Assembly and the remaining one – His Highness the Amir – is in Seif Palace. As for the ministers, they were either employees of the Prime Minister, or the parliamentarians.

Therefore, if the justifications were that democracy imposes this, and that the Constitution determined the path for both parties, then this is an injustice to Kuwait, its Constitution, and democracy.

For example, when 44 parliamentarians agree on a legislative plan that has clear personal goals and takes into account the interests of those controlling it, the real goal will not be the renaissance of the country, but rather the pursuit of governance.

If these parliamentarians agreed to enact legislation affecting the powers of the ruler or the Prime Minister, or even to amend the Constitution, nothing would hinder them.

The head of state has no right to reject the law. If they are determined to do so, the Constitution itself allows them to approve it without returning to the Amir.

In this regard, we have the precedent of the law granting women their political rights in 2003, when parliamentarians rejected the Amir’s desire at that time, and the debate continued for about two years until the law was approved in 2005.

To this day, in light of the tampering that has been practiced over the past years and based on what His Highness the Amir said in the oath-taking session in this regard – “What is required is to reconsider all the texts that caused this chaos, starting with the Constitution, passing through the laws, and all the way to the ministerial executive decision mechanism. The interest of Kuwait is not a gateway to achieving the personal interests of a parliamentarian, group, or bloc.”

Currently, attention is turning to His Highness the Prime Minister and the ministers to follow the line drawn by His Highness the Amir, who made fighting corruption his first goal and sought reform.

Therefore, if there are some obstacles that must be removed, then the best thing is to do it urgently, as neither the Constitution is a sacred text nor the laws are not subject to amendment.

There are indicators that His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem’s primary concern is reform, as indicated by the dialogue between him and the National Assembly Speaker, and by the fact that His Highness the Prime Minister is not busy with governance, like the way it happened in previous councils of ministers, which were working to spread corruption under the title of reform.

There is no doubt that the indicators for this will be manifested in the government’s work program. Will it be realistic and possible to implement, and meet the aspirations of the people who are tired of failed experiments, or will all the effort be equal to zero? Or will the birth of Kuwait’s fourth state begin to dawn upon us during the time of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem?

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah

Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

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