In Democracy Kuwait Trusts, But Not Much

DOI 6 May 2008

HERALD TRIBUNE(KUWAIT)-As the May 17 parliamentary elections approach candidates refer again and again to a "halat ihbaat" — state of frustration. Efforts to overhaul Kuwait's sclerotic welfare state have stalled in its fractious and divided Parliament, and scandals led the emir to dissolve the chamber last month for the second time in less than two years, forcing new elections. All this has left many Kuwaitis deeply disenchanted with their 50-member elected legislature. The collapse of the Bush administration's efforts to promote democracy in the region and the continuing chaos in Iraq, just to the north — once heralded as the birthplace of a new democratic model — have also contributed to a popular suspicion among Kuwaitis that democracy itself is one Western import that has not lived up to its advertising. Source: http:www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/06/africa/06kuwait.php
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