New Parliament Marks A Setback for Kuwait
Kuwait’s newly elected National Assembly, which convenes on Dec. 16, offers little promise, writes Mona Kareem. Absent many of the leading opposition figures who boycotted the election, the parliament is unlikely to address any of the political problems that have divided Kuwait.
Perhaps to compete with Jordan, whose government seems to change every few weeks, Kuwait has elected its second parliament this year. This might seem vindication for the opposition, but it instead represents just the latest round of a political struggle in Kuwait that is not abating.
Background
Two years of protest by opposition forces from 2009 until the end of 2011 led to the resignation of Prime Minster Sheik Nasser al-Mohammed al-Sabah, who was replaced as prime minister by Sheik Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah, also from the same ruling family.
Last February, the conservative/Islamist opposition won a majority of seats only to enjoy power for few months before the constitutional court decided to dissolve it.
