Kuwaiti fiscal stimulus needs support

Parliamentary wrangling is nothing new to Kuwait, yet two key announcements this week have set the country’s executive and legislative bodies on a collision course one month before parliament has been elected.

The announcement that fresh National Assembly, or parliamentary, elections will be held on 16 May followed news that a long-awaited economic stability bill had finally been approved by Kuwait’s ruler, Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah, making it easier for companies to get loans.

When the newly elected parliament returns in May, one of the first things it will be asked to do is ratify the bill, which had been a particular sticking point for opposition MPs within the last National Assembly before it was dissolved by the emir on 18 March.

The dissolution followed the resignation of the cabinet to avoid parliamentary grillings over a range of subjects, including the bill. The cabinet was asked to remain in power to oversee “urgent business” until fresh elections had been held.

What happens next will define the country’s political landscape.

Should the new assembly arrive in a spirit of compromise, and allow the bill to stand, Kuwaitis may well breathe a sigh of relief.

A vote against the bill by two-thirds of the parliament, fresh calls for parliamentary grillings, and a government perceived as being toothless, would cause the all-too-familiar cycle of political stasis, parliamentary dissolution and fresh elections that has led to three governments and parliaments coming and going in as many years.

The emir has already said that this second option is untenable, and the Kuwaiti people have marched in protest over the political deadlock that has left infrastructure projects and economic reforms in the country paralysed. Those standing for the May elections would do well to bear this in mind.