Kuwait, a major OPEC producer, is heading for a deep political crisis as a rebellious parliament steps up its pressure on the government and divisions appear in the ruling family. The Gulf Arab state has avoided an ‘Arab spring’ uprising but is locked in a long-running battle between a government dominated by the ruling al-Sabah family, and a parliament which likes to challenge it — unusual in a region largely controlled by powerful families. Last month, Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah unveiled his seventh cabinet — the previous one had quit to avoid questioning by lawmakers alleging misuse of public funds. Within days several MPs returned to the attack, saying they wanted to question Nasser and deputy prime minister Sheikh Ahmed al-Fahd al-Sabah about allegations of mismanagement of public funds, corruption and inefficiency.
Both deny the charges. Splits within the ruling family are worsening the hostility between government and parliament as ruling family members use parliament to push their agenda, MPs and analysts say. Share prices on the local bourse have fallen as investors fear the crisis will delay economic projects like a $109 billion state development plan because cabinet ministers are busy fending off attacks by deputies. The daily al-Qabas, in a rare frontpage editorial “Enough fighting among sons of the (ruling) family”, accused unnamed al-Sabah members of using parliament for their power struggles. “For the first time the conflict is in the open, reaching this sharpness and making it into parliament,” Qabas said. “Kuwait is going through a critical phase… Leaders of the (ruling) family were always united. Now there are conflicts inside the family,” liberal lawmaker Abdulrahman al-Anjari said.
“These conflict will have a negative impact.” “It won’t get any better. The government is weak, there is a vacuum and parliament opposes the prime minister,” said Shafiq al-Ghabra, a political analyst. Sheikh Nasser has faced opposition in parliament ever since taking office in 2006, but analysts say tension is rising as MPs and opposition activists take to the streets. Emboldened by protests in Egypt and Tunisia, opposition groups have for several weeks staged rallies every Friday, dubbed a “day of anger”, urging the emir, who has the last say in Kuwaiti politics, to sack the prime minister. “We have a 55 billion dinar budget but people don’t benefit from it,” said Fawaz al-Bahr, a young man who works in the state oil industry and joined recent protests.