Jennifer Rubin reports
Jonathan Schanzer's reaction to the
appointment of Rami Hamdallah as 'prime minister' of the 'Palestinian Authority.' This is from the first link.
Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
concurs. He tells me, “Hamdallah is an obscure academic with no
experience in governing. His appointment marks a consolidation of power
for Mahmoud Abbas. He is expected to be a ‘yes man’ — the opposite of
Salam Fayyad, who openly disagreed with the Palestinian president on
core issues, including transparency and institution building.” What is
really going on here is the consolidation of corrupt Fatah’s authority.
(Fayyad was never a Fatah member, which in large part accounted for his
independence and the antipathy he generated.) Schanzer observes,
“Unfortunately, Abbas is not only getting a weak prime minister. He is
also weakening the institution of the position. This means less checks
and balances in the Palestinian political system. Abbas, who is already
four years past the end of his legal presidential term, has taken the
institution of the presidency back to the future.”
It is noteworthy that the most significant accomplishment regarding
the PA in the past few years was the ejection of Yasser Arafat and the
division of authority between the president and prime minister. Now, as
Schanzer notes, Abbas’s “ironclad grip on Palestinian politics rivals
that of Yasser Arafat in his prime.”
Indeed.
'An obscure academic with no experience in governing'
ReplyDeleteWe know that kind already. He's residing in the White House.
Excuse me but what does any Palestinian Prime Minister actually DO? The PLO is a proto-state run like The Sopranos. What does the ceremonial head of state mean? It means nothing. None of them do.
ReplyDelete