KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Kuwait's new emir Sheikh Meshal al-
Ahmed al-Sabah on Wednesday criticised parliament and cabinet for harming 
national interests as he was formally sworn in before lawmakers as the 
country's 17th ruler.

Officially taking over from his half-brother Sheikh Nawaf, who passed away on 
Saturday, Sheikh Meshal is faced with the task of pulling the country out of 
longstanding political paralysis and reforming a bloated public sector that 
have turned Kuwait into one of the Gulf's most laggard states.

"I have stressed in my previous speeches that there are national obligations 
that must be fulfilled," the 83-year-old ruler told lawmakers after he took 
the oath of office.

But "we have not noticed any change or correction" from parliament and 
cabinet, he added.

Instead, the two entities have "harmed the interests of the people and the 
country," he said.

His predecessor's short-lived rule was marked by a protracted political 
standoff that saw successive parliament dissolutions and cabinet 
resignations.

Sheikh Meshal further pointed to public appointments and promotions that 
"don't meet the simplest standards of justice and fairness".

He pledged to temporarily halt promotions and new appointments, after already 
signing a decree on December 5 ordering a three-month pause in state hiring 
that is open to extension.

"We have warned on many occasions that crises, challenges and dangers 
surround us," Sheikh Meshal said, underscoring "the necessity to reconsider 
our current reality in all its aspects".

- Bitter disputes -

Shortly after the speech, the government submitted its resignation in a 
procedural step to allow for the naming of a new prime minister.

Kuwait, which borders Saudi Arabia and Iraq, is home to seven percent of the 
world's crude reserves. It has little debt and one of the strongest sovereign 
wealth funds in the world.

However, it suffers from constant disputes between elected lawmakers and 
cabinets installed by the ruling Al-Sabah family, which maintains a strong 
grip over political life, despite a relatively robust parliamentary system in 
place since 1962.

The deadlocks have prevented lawmakers from passing reforms to diversify the 
economy, while repeated budget deficits and low foreign investment have added 
to the crises.

Bader al-Saif, a professor at Kuwait University, described Sheikh Meshal's 
address as "one of the strongest first speeches given by an incoming ruler".

"Most significant and unprecedented is the emir's clear rebuke of government 
and parliament," he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Sheikh Meshal spent many years in the interior ministry and was deputy chief 
of the Kuwait National Guard from 2004 to 2020.

During his long career in Kuwait's security and intelligence apparatus, he 
kept his distance from the often bitter disputes within the royal family.

His first major test as emir will be selecting a crown prince amid 
speculation over whether he will usher in a new generation of rulers.

He will have a year to make his pick, but much attention will be on whether 
he will be able to match the seven-day record set by his predecessor.

The new emir will also have to select a prime minister to form a new cabinet 
in a move that will set the tone for relations with the opposition-led 
parliament, hailed as the most active in the Gulf.