|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.economist.com/node/16793370?story_id=16793370&fsrc=rss
Democracy Is Flagging in Both the Palestinian Territories
(Economist-UK) - Western governments have hailed Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad for his efficient rule. Still, a growing chorus of Palestinian skeptics say they have yet to see evidence of the institutions Fayyad has promised to build. Nor do they see tangible signs of his promised state. Palestine's biggest symbol of sovereignty, its parliament, has been emasculated. For three years Fayyad's government has rebuffed efforts to revive it and put legislation to parliamentary scrutiny. The result is that in both Palestine's cloven halves, governance is remarkably similar. Both Hamas and Fayyad rule by decree, merging executive and legislative arms into one. Both promise elections sometime in the future, but in the meantime round up their opponents and silence unlicensed independent media outlets.