After the sad passing of the Emir earlier this week, everything was supposed to be figured out within the week or so to clear the view for us as Kuwaitis to know what is the future of our leadership.

The new Emir, Sheikh Sa3ad, is physically in very bad shape. In the newspapers, (which need a seperate post on how interesting each paper is biased on one side on the other) there was an argument on wether it is possible for Sheikh Sa3ad to be Emir without saying the oath (القسم الأميري).

Everybody in Kuwait was hoping for the ruling family to agree on something very quickly so everything can go back to normal. Unfortunately, it has gone the opposite way so far.

The situation as of last night is as follows -

Meeting #1 -

Early in the day, Sheikh Sabah invited members of the AlSabah family to his home for a meeting to figure everything out and solve all the issues. Everyone came except for Salem AlAli. Apparently his reasons for not coming are because

1) He was invited personally by Sabah AlAhmad, someone was sent to invite him.
2) the meeting that is supposed to decide the future of the Emir is being held somewhere else while the Emir is still alive and should be held at his place.

To be honest, both are valid points to a certain extent. The first point because of him being the elder in the family عميد العائلة and out of respect should be called personally. Anybody would do the same with their elder in the family. The second point is more valid for obvious reasons. Salem AlAli played that one perfectly, and said that another meeting should be done at the Emir’s place later that night.

Anyway, in that meeting, there was an agreement between everybody that Sheikh Sa3ad should step down from his position because of health reasons. As Emir, he will not be able to perform the required duties in the position he is in. There was a total agreement for that position from everyone except two people attending, who are from AlSalem side.

Meeting #2 - (also discussed in ساحة الصفاة)

Later that night, there was a second meeting, this time with everybody’s attendance. In this meeting, Sabah AlAhmad and everyone from the previous meeting stuck with his position that the Emir should step down, while Salem AlAli stuck with his position that Sheikh Sa3ad should remain as Emir as recognition for all he’s done to Kuwait and so on.

The meeting ended with both parties in more disagreement than before and therefore putting the future of Kuwait and the political stability in total chaos for the near future at least.

If the two leading men from our ruling family cant agree on something that determines the future of the country, I personally think that this is the time for all the other members of the Sabah family to start moving towards a settlement instead of watching the big heads and deciding on what position to take for personal future gain. This issue is bigger than someone’s own masla7a, and it is the perfect time for the younger generation in the family to have an active role in deciding the future of the country.

I am not sure what is the procedure that is enforced if no agreement is reached, but I think I read something about the parliament having a vote on whether the Emir can go on with his duties without saying the full oath. If it reaches that point, there will be the biggest battle of masaaali7 in the parliament ever! Both parties will try to get their say by any means possible!

It is also interesting watching the other peices of the chessboard move right now. Soo many examples in the couple of days that passed -

For example, Salem AlAli’s spokesperson (I have always said so and am totally convinced about that after yesterday’s article) Mohammed AlJasem, started attacking Jasem AlKharafi (who is on Sabah AlAhmad’s side) in his latest article, . Ahmad AlSadoun and his takattul started talking about how it is totally constitutional that the Emir can hold the position without the oath (Salem’s side)!! Al7araka aldistoriya (AlIkhwan) seem also to be on Salem AlAli’s side by stressing the need for فصل ولاية العهد عن رئاسة الوزراء which means disposing all power from Sabah AlAhmad. As for newspapers, it is funny to watch AlRai Alaam attack Ahmad AlSa3doon’s position on a daily basis on the front page, and also disputed AlQabas’s claim that Abdulla AlSalem (RIP) became Emir without the saying the full oath by showing a transcript of that day’s session (Sabah AlAhmad’s side).

It is interesting watching the different sides make their moves through all means possible right now, bes at the same time, and more importantly, it is really sad that we got to this stage!

The results of this feud will be costly, not only in political terms but also in financial terms. The stock market opens in two days, and with the instability we can only watch as people exit because of political fears, and if the KIA does as it announced two days ago that it will keep the market from collapsing, then that will also mean that the KIA will have to keep injecting money in the market until a solution is reached, and that money should be spent on the country and its people instead of being spent because of a personal feud!

The ruling family had 30 years to made decisions on what happens after sheikh Jaber (RIP), but as we see now, it is too little too late, o الله يستر و يخلي الكويت لأهلها