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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Fayyad may be replaced as prime minister |
| 2009-08-15 |
| [Gulf News] Palestinian Prime Minister Salem Fayyad, an independent technocrat favoured by the West, may face pressure to cede his post to a figure from the resurgent Fatah movement, political sources said on Wednesday. Western diplomats said this might be one outcome of Fatah's landmark congress in Bethlehem, its first in 20 years and first on Palestinian soil, which senior figures say has strengthened the movement and its leader, President Mahmoud Abbas. "This has always been on the cards. It remains to be seen what the president wants," said a Western diplomat. "Remember, it's a caretaker government and it's entirely up to Abbas." A senior Fatah official speaking on condition of anonymity said it would be "natural to review Fatah's position now that we have a new leadership [with] the right to reconsider its representatives in the government". Many in Fatah have been irked by Abbas's reliance on Fayyad, a former International Monetary Fund official, and complain budget cuts have hit the party and its loyalists. Fayyad's supporters, including Western aid donors, say the premier has curbed corruption and waste that Fatah's critics say were the hallmarks of its earlier rule. A source close to the prime minister said: "The government should enjoy the official support of the biggest party. "This means that the government may be changed, reshuffled or stay. But at the end of the day, the government should be publicly backed by the ruling party, not only by [Abbas]." A second diplomatic source said rumours of Fayyad's likely replacement were merely "background chatter" prompted by shifting political fortunes at the congress, and predicted no change of prime minister. |
| Posted by:Fred |