Yemen's new government: A nail in Hadi's coffin?
Yemen's new government: A nail in Hadi's coffin?
If Yemen's little-supported new cabinet falls apart, President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi could be in serious trouble.
3 min read
President Hadi faces many challenges ahead [Whang Zhao/AFP/Getty]
Almost a month after his appointment on October 13, Yemeni Prime Minister Khalid Bahah has a cabinet.
Well, nearly. Only 29 of his 35 ministers were sworn in at a ceremony on Sunday. Of the missing six, three were said to be abroad, while the others have declined their posts.
Yet Bahah, the country's former ambassador to the United Nations, will be happy that so many of his proposed ministers accepted their positions.
The conditions for a functioning government in Yemen, and for a minister to be able to do their job, are not ideal.
Who is in charge of the country? Even in Yemen, which has always been characterised by a weak central state and a strong tribal system, the breakdown of the state's authority stands out.
Houthi struggle
The Houthis, a rebel movement who fought six wars against the state between 2004 and 2010, are in control of the capital, Sanaa, having taken it with minimal resistance on September 21.
The Houthis have the guns on the streets, but it seems that Yemeni President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi is trying to see what he can get away with politically - he initially tried to appoint his ally, Ahmad Bin Mubarak, to head the government, knowing full well that the Houthis would oppose his candidacy.
The Houthis won out then but Hadi, and Bahah, appear to have been able to appoint their technocratic cabinet despite Houthi opposition.
Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, now seemingly an ally of the Houthis, called for a boycott of the new government. Saleh, the autocrat who ruled North Yemen, and then the united Yemen, for 33 years until his removal after months of protest in 2011, is now painting himself as a nationalist fighting "foreign" - read "American" - interference.
It's a smart move - if he is allied to the Houthis, he might want to get on board with their "Death to America" sloganeering soon enough.
However, he has a more important reason to be angrily taking on Washington. For it was them, along with their allies inside and outside Yemen, that got him sanctioned by the UN Security Council.
The decision, passed on Friday, included a visa ban and an asset freeze for Saleh, along with two Houthi leaders - but interestingly not the actual leader of the movement, Abd al-Malik al-Houthi.
Careful positioning
Saleh is accused of obstructing Yemen's political transition, with the US accusing him of being "behind the attempts to cause chaos throughout Yemen", and of using al-Qaeda to assassinate opponents and attack government and security buildings.
Last Thursday, Saleh moved to pre-empt the sanctions, saying that the US ambassador to Yemen had told him to leave the country by 5pm the following day.
The US embassy denied it, but it was too late, Saleh's supporters came out in their thousands to defend him on Friday, and Hadi was being accused of "treachery" in parliament.
By Saturday, Hadi was out of the General People's Congress (GPC), Saleh's party-cum-patronage network.
This leaves Hadi with no party, no army, no parliament, and no control over the streets of the capital, Sanaa.
He'll be relieved to have a government then. How long will that be able to last?
The Houthis and Saleh seem to have begrudgingly allowed the government to be formed, despite their opposition to some of the ministers named.
But there is a caveat; statements are already being made declaring that should the government fail, then Hadi must shoulder the responsibility.
The knives have been taken out and now they are being sharpened.
Well, nearly. Only 29 of his 35 ministers were sworn in at a ceremony on Sunday. Of the missing six, three were said to be abroad, while the others have declined their posts.
Yet Bahah, the country's former ambassador to the United Nations, will be happy that so many of his proposed ministers accepted their positions.
The conditions for a functioning government in Yemen, and for a minister to be able to do their job, are not ideal.
Who is in charge of the country? Even in Yemen, which has always been characterised by a weak central state and a strong tribal system, the breakdown of the state's authority stands out.
Houthi struggle
The Houthis, a rebel movement who fought six wars against the state between 2004 and 2010, are in control of the capital, Sanaa, having taken it with minimal resistance on September 21.
The Houthis have the guns on the streets, but it seems that Yemeni President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi is trying to see what he can get away with politically - he initially tried to appoint his ally, Ahmad Bin Mubarak, to head the government, knowing full well that the Houthis would oppose his candidacy.
The Houthis won out then but Hadi, and Bahah, appear to have been able to appoint their technocratic cabinet despite Houthi opposition.
Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, now seemingly an ally of the Houthis, called for a boycott of the new government. Saleh, the autocrat who ruled North Yemen, and then the united Yemen, for 33 years until his removal after months of protest in 2011, is now painting himself as a nationalist fighting "foreign" - read "American" - interference.
It's a smart move - if he is allied to the Houthis, he might want to get on board with their "Death to America" sloganeering soon enough.
However, he has a more important reason to be angrily taking on Washington. For it was them, along with their allies inside and outside Yemen, that got him sanctioned by the UN Security Council.
The decision, passed on Friday, included a visa ban and an asset freeze for Saleh, along with two Houthi leaders - but interestingly not the actual leader of the movement, Abd al-Malik al-Houthi.
Careful positioning
Saleh is accused of obstructing Yemen's political transition, with the US accusing him of being "behind the attempts to cause chaos throughout Yemen", and of using al-Qaeda to assassinate opponents and attack government and security buildings.
Last Thursday, Saleh moved to pre-empt the sanctions, saying that the US ambassador to Yemen had told him to leave the country by 5pm the following day.
The US embassy denied it, but it was too late, Saleh's supporters came out in their thousands to defend him on Friday, and Hadi was being accused of "treachery" in parliament.
By Saturday, Hadi was out of the General People's Congress (GPC), Saleh's party-cum-patronage network.
This leaves Hadi with no party, no army, no parliament, and no control over the streets of the capital, Sanaa.
He'll be relieved to have a government then. How long will that be able to last?
The Houthis and Saleh seem to have begrudgingly allowed the government to be formed, despite their opposition to some of the ministers named.
But there is a caveat; statements are already being made declaring that should the government fail, then Hadi must shoulder the responsibility.
The knives have been taken out and now they are being sharpened.
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