Report: Al-Shara expected to chair next Syrian government
Syria, Politics, 2/24/2000

Well-informed sources told the London-based al-Hayat daily that the regional leadership of the ruling Baath Party in Syria met during the two past days under the chairmanship of the assistant secretary general of the party, Suleiman Qaddah, just a few days after a meeting presided over by President Hafez al-Assad during which the framework was drawn up to reshuffle the government of Prime Minister Mahmoud al-Zou'bi.

The sources stated that the participants in the meeting reviewed the names of several candidates for assuming ministerial posts for the Baath Party, which has been ruling the country since 1963 and that other parties rallied under the National Progressive Front, established in 1972, are to present their candidates to their assigned ministerial posts.

It was noticeable that Prime Minister al-Zou'bi did not attend the meeting held between President al-Assad and Italian Premier Massimo D'Alema, while this meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa, who is also a member of the central committee at the Baath Party.

Observers see in this development an indication to the possibility of al-Shara forming the new government on the grounds of his "efficiency in carrying out President al-Assad's foreign policy, the President's confidence entrusted in al-Shara and his deep insight with the file of peace negotiations since its launching in 1991," besides his being a member of the 90-member central committee of the Baath Party since the conference held in 1985.

Nevertheless Syrian laws do not stipulate that the prime minister has to be a member of the party's regional leadership.

Al-Shara (62) also enjoys good relations with Bashar al-Assad, son of the Syrian president, who was the first to visit him at the hospital of the American University in Beirut after he left the operating room in October 1999.

Al-Shara had with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak peace negotiations since their resumption on December 15, 1999.

Taking it for granted that nomination of the premier is decided by President al-Assad, the secretary general of the Baath Party, Syrian officials and observers debate other candidates in the leadership of the Baath Party.

It is a tradition that President al-Assad will accept the resignation of the prime minister and assign his successor on Thursday, so as the chance will be given for consultations and forming the cabinet by the vacation of the weekend without halting work at the state's establishments.

Concerning the Baath Party establishments, represented in the Baath Party secretaries and the governors, observers expect "new blood" to join joint the executive authority from civil institutions like "the economic sciences society," "the Syrian scientific society for informatics," "the Syrian universities and the diplomatic corps," as President Hafez al-Assad in September 1999 released a decree that provided for bringing back seven ambassadors who spent longer periods of time in their posts, besides the deputy foreign minister, Adnan Omran.

It is also expected that this step will be followed by appointing new Syrian ambassadors abroad, besides former ministers were appointed as ambassadors, including the minister of oil, Issa Darwish, whose term of office as an ambassador in Cairo ended.

Al-Zou'bi formed his first government in 1987 in succession of the government of Abdul Raouf al-Kasm, the current chairman of the national security office. After President al-Assad took his oath in 1992 al-Zou'bi formed his second government which was reshuffled for several times.

Moreover, a new ministry is expected to be established specializing in scientific research and informatics.

The current Syrian government includes 35 ministers, including 24 from the Baath Party (among those are two members of the party's regional leadership and three from the central committee), five independents and the other six are distributed among the parties of the National Progressive Front.

Previous Stories:
  Has the march of change started in Syria? New government expected within days   (2/21/2000)
  New Syrian government   (12/21/1999)
  Damascus: Rumors on resignation of al-Zou'bi government   (11/12/1999)

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