Kuwait Politics: Entitlement Politics, Plutocrats against Demographics, Cerebrally Challenged Politics………….
“Group of 26: Yes to productive projects, no to electoral projects….....”
There has been a lot of political noise in Kuwait lately. The assembly and the government are often at odds, holding back important projects. Sound familiar?
The undercurrents are a continuing struggle between various rival economic and political classes; between the old dominant plutocrat classes and the new ascendant classes; between the old pretenders and the growing new claimants to political power.
In the end, like the undercurrents of all political rivalries everywhere, it is a rivalry for the piece of the cake. An economic rivalry.
Here is a summary of the main players:
The Plutocrats: are the merchant families, the mostly interrelated and intermarried influential business families. They have traditionally controlled commerce, finance, and the private economy. They have also traditionally controlled the highest government positions. They were the traditional allies of the ruling family, as well as their occasional rivals. They also have benefited the most from government expenditure and largesse through contracts, high positions of influence in the bureaucracy, as well as direct subsidies through such programs as the Debt Settlements that followed market crashes (either directly or through subsidies to their corporations). Many of them were appointed to lead government-owned corporations, which some then proceeded to screw up real good during the 1970s through 1990s. They also dominated political life until the 1980s.
The plutocrats traditionally did not like forming political alliances with others, as they thought they had some sort of entitlement to share in political power- they still think so. They tended to dominate both conservative politics as well as the old pan-Arab (leftist) groups. They basically ran their politics as a country club: they tended to exclude Shi’as as well as tribal elements (bedouins). That was short-sighted because the rest of the country grew around them and away from them. This group has not fared well under the electoral system in recent years, as demographic forces have reduced their share of the population. There has been a clear and irreversible shift of political power away from these plutocrats. They are basically trying to play political catch-up with this new extra-parliamentary Group of 26.
Group of 26: Now the plutocrats have allied themselves with some old senior bureaucrats, old civil servants, and media owners (who are mainly from among their own circles, so it is a largely incestuous group or, more politely, a self-selected group). A few Shi’as, Salafis, and others are thrown in to make it look heterogeneous. They are seeking a non-electoral way to achieve their goals because they simply cannot win elections anymore.
Their goal: to regain the influence they wielded until the early 1980s. This is not likely to happen under the current system of voting. Their only option may be to push for amendment of the electoral system to allow for an additional appointed assembly, like in Bahrain. In Bahrain the rulers first suspended elections for a couple of decades, then they changed the system to a bicameral one, with one house appointed by the emir/king, with the clear goal of diluting the influence of the Shi’a majority and the Sunni leftist opposition.
Elected Assembly: In the early years it was dominated by the plutocrat class, the merchant classes who, like every other segment, largely depended on government spending and projects as well as other largesse. In the past two decades the assembly has been dominated by tribals and their Islamist allies representing the bulk of the people (mainly those who, like everyone else, also depend on government largesse, public programs and expenditure). A few members have been heavily using legal questioning and no-confidence votes to pressure select ministers. The government, rather than go through the questioning and the vote, has usually gotten rid of the target minisres. An odd way to do business.
Most members of Parliament, dominated by tribal and Islamist members, are suspicious of this new Group of 26, fearing they are trying to circumvent parliamentary rule. Fearing it is a way to regain for the plutocrat class what they have lost through elections. Basically trying to enter through the window after getting kicked out the door. Which they are.
Their fears are probably correct, although the plutocrats also rightly claim that members of the assembly have been holding up projects, (which also means holding up contracts and money for the plutocrats), hindering the development of the country.
It is true that most members of the assembly were elected by tribal or sect affiliation, and tend to be cerebrally challenged. It is also equally true that most high bureaucrats and officials are usually appointed based on their family connections or tribe, and they are also nearly as cerebrally challenged.
The average citizen is clever, but somehow he can’t seem to elect clever people. The average ‘ruling member’ is also clever, from my personal experience, yet they are bound to the plutocrat class and to the various interest groups.Politics is the same all over. No?
More to come....
Cheers
mhg
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