ATFP Translates - 
Hamdallah's government: a new conductor and his baton 
 
Hani Habeeb
Al Ayam (translated by ATFP)
June 16, 2013
 
We run the risk of annoying Dr. Salam Fayyad were we to congratulate him on resigning from the office of Prime Minister, particularly as we didn't have much access to him when he took office, generally declining to accept invitations from newspapers and the media. He avoided crowding the newspapers with his pictures, whether large or small, color or black and white, or from the first and last pages and even in supplements. Perhaps this was because he was counting communicating with the public through the oldest and most time-honored measures: his own direct engagement with them through his initiatives and activities during his tenure that illustrated how genuine his intentions truly were. He spared no opportunity to reach out personally to the public via the opening of various development projects in all of the cities, villages, and areas of the West Bank. People like me have thus lost the bet that pictures in the media are what is truly lasting, as Fayyad leaves the true image of his government imprinted in the memory of the public through economic and development projects and institutions he established through sincere and constructive efforts.
 
Of course this does not prevent us from congratulating the new government, even though such congratulations must be mixed with a due concern for the many difficulties and problems it inherits, not the least of which is the continued diplomatic impasse and breakdown in the negotiating process combined with the continuation of aggressive Israeli occupation and settlement activities. But there is another concern that should also haunt the new government: that, perforce, its performance will be compared with that of its predecessor. Perhaps these concerns should prompt the current government to redouble their efforts at all levels, but this would require more than the current cabinet is likely to be able to provide.
 
It seems the new government may share these concerns with us, especially given its announcement on its first day of operations when it's official spokesperson explained the size and severity of the financial crisis and noted that the public debt of the Palestinian Authority amounted to $4.2 billion. However, if one is willing to look past simple numerical rigidity, simply citing this figure indicates several important points neglected by the government spokesman. For instance, Fayyad’s government started with a deficit and public debt amounting to $4.110 billion, which was equal to 79 percent of Palestinian GDP. The current public debt of 4.2 billion is equal to just 39 percent of GDP. This means that, in effect, under the last government the public debt was actually cut in half even though the figure seems to remain the same. It should be noted that the volume of production is now in excess of $10 billion. Moreover, the Gaza Strip has stopped contributing anything to PA government revenues, while at the same time 46 percent of PA budgetary expenditures go to Gaza in form of public employee salaries, and various health, education and social services. In other words, the facile and decontextualized citation of the $4.2 billion debt by the government spokesperson is a preemptive attempt to justify any future economic failures by the new government by creating a false impression of the actual economic situation as inherited from the last government.
 
This announcement suggests that the new government has anticipated such failures from day one, and were were hoping that by citing this figure, while avoiding making straightforward comparison with the performance of the previous government, would be an effective defensive measure, as opposed to explaining the real important implications of the existing $4.2 billion debt in its broader context. The government spokesperson was, in effect, providing misleading information to the Palestinian public.
 
Before leaving his post as Prime Minister, Fayyad signed the wages bill, although he could have easily postponed it and simply passed the burden to the new government. While this might be construed as a measure that would enhance Fayyad's popularity, in fact his government consistently took difficult and responsible decisions that were thoroughly unpopular. It's a rare statesman who has enough integrity, professionalism and sense of national responsibility to take politically risky decisions under difficult circumstances and leave themselves open to powerful attacks from their opponents. Because his decisions were not taken for his own personal interests, we saw from Fayyad, particularly during the last days of his government, taking numerous actions that reflected the national interest and ethical and professional responsibilities rather than political calculations. This attitude made it possible for him to take unpopular decision such as raising the VAT by 1 percent, which increased prices, as well as the decision to build electricity consumption based on prices set by the suppliers. Such measures relieve the new government of taking this kind of unpopular decision, allowing them to stand as part of the record of the departing government. Once again, only public-spirited statesmen such as Fayyad are capable of taking such difficult but necessary measures despite the political costs.
 
While we are on the subject of political responsibility, the national interest and unpopular decisions, it's worth noting that the Hamadallah government wasted no time in courting public sector employees through wage increases and promotions. And, while it certainly their right to take such actions, let no one doubt they will deliver an additional burden on the budget and significantly exacerbate the present economic crisis. It is easy to make populist decisions, but it is hard to fulfill the responsible but necessary obligations of governance and economic prudence, especially through a cabinet that is plagued with factional discord and has a declining proportion of female representation. Although this new government may have many of the basic components and remnants of its predecessor, it is being led by quite a different conductor -- one who is using another sort of baton altogether to lead the orchestra of governance.
 
Hanihabib272@hotmail.com
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