New Palestinian Prime Minister Faces Old Problems
Reconciliation and the fight over representation from the city of Hebron complicate the agenda of newly sworn-in Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.
Ever since the creation of the first Palestinian government headed by Mahmoud Abbas, there has been tension between the presidency and the prime minister’s office. At the time of that first government, there was pressure on Palestinians to shift as much power as possible away from former President Yasser Arafat and to the government of Prime Minister Abbas.
After Arafat’s death, the tables were turned when Abbas became president. Attempts were made to shift some of the powers back to the president, especially after the victory of pro-Hamas members of Parliament in 2006 and the appointment of Ismail Haniyeh as prime minister.
Former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad reversed the trend one more time, insisting on enjoying the full authority given to him by Palestinian law. The conflict between Abbas and Fayyad reached its pinnacle when Fayyad refused Abbas’s call to allow resigned Finance Minister Nabil Kassis to return. Eventually, Abbas won the tug-of-war with the resignation of Fayyad. A photo during a ceremony in which Abbas honored Fayyad for his 13 years of service with the medal of honor shows both leaders emotionless, a clear reflection of how bad the relationship had become.
It was in this atmosphere, the perceived victory of the president’s office, that newly designated Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah stepped onstage. Choosing members of his government was his first challenge. Not only did the president’s office insist on the continuation of the major portfolios like the Foreign and Interior Ministries, but it seemed that the president’s staff had ideas for almost every portfolio, leaving the inexperienced Hamdallah to appear as nothing more than an instrument in the hands of the experienced Abbas team.
