Yemen's new leader may face lack of gov't support

Swearing in a new president, Yemen has started a new era that observers said may see a rocky relationship between the new leader and the power-sharing government. Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi took the oath before the parliament on Saturday and replaced former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled Yemen for almost 33 years. Hadi, who had been vice president since 1994 and acting president since June 2011, pledged to launch robust reforms as well as a comprehensive national dialogue. Observers say, though the power-sharing government, formed by the ruling party and the opposition, is committed, under a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-brokered power transfer deal, to supporting the new leader, the relationship between the two might deteriorate in the interim period. Ali al-Jaradi, a political analyst and publisher, said that the new leadership in Yemen is facing big problems including the demands of the youth-led protesters, who took to the streets early last year against the longtime regime, and that solving these problems might be a key reason for a complicated relationship between the government and the president. Meanwhile, Fuad al-Salahi, a political sociology professor at Sanaa University, said the relationship between Hadi and the government will start normal but later some issues will affect it. "I think the new government will provide support to Hadi at the first stages of the transitional period and during this period crucial issues such as the national dialogue will make political parties start imposing personal agenda," al-Salahi said. "Hadi, head of the committee on restructuring the armed forces and maintaining security, needs to make good decisions to start reforms including the removal of the relatives of the former president from their military and security posts and, for this, the relationship between him and the government may face difficulties." Al-Jaradi, of al-Ahali newspaper, said that all reforms the new leadership will implement were included in the GCC deal and were aimed at paving the way for the time after the two-year transitional period. "Any reforms in the country must meet the aspirations of the political parties and the people after the unrest," he said, adding what the political parties want with reforms is linked to the time after the transitional period. "Restructuring the armed forces, boosting the national economy and holding a national political dialogue form the priorities of the new leadership and the parties think such issues were behind the crises in Yemen," al- Jaradi said. Abdul Salam Muhammad, head of ABAAD Center for Strategic Studies, said Hadi and the new government are committed to working together and implementing reforms, otherwise, the people will decide what to do. "The reforms to be conducted in the coming period will not only meet the aspirations of the political parties but also the demands of the youth-led protesters," he said. However, observers warned if crucial issues are not handled properly including the restructuring of the armed forces, Yemen will not be safe and violence will be inevitable. Professor al-Salahi said that Yemen's problems are very clear, topped by the restructuring of the armed forces, economic crisis, the south file and the relationship between Yemen and other countries. Yemen should build ties with foreign countries on the basis of independence and sovereignty because the time has come for this country to make its own decisions, he said. "To make a true change in Yemen, the new leadership needs to remove military and security commanders and fight corruption ... if it fails to implement economic reforms the people will revolt again and again," he said. When it comes to the national dialogue, al-Salahi said there are some groups which did not recognize the GCC deal including the Shiite Houthi Group in the far north and the Southern Movement. He said that he was not optimistic that the new leadership will tackle these problems to build a problem-free Yemen and all he hope is that the new president and the power-sharing government will put the country's interest ahead of personal interests. Muhammad of ABAAD Center for Strategic Studies, however, argued that bringing the armed groups such as the Houthi Group and al- Qaida to the dialogue table will be a key task for the new leadership. "The new government has succeeded in bridging part of the gap with the youth-led protesters and the focus on the armed groups remains the major point within a national dialogue," he said. " Still, it needs more skills to succeed in solving problems because Hadi and the government have no choice but to serve their country. " But at least, Al-Jaradi said, the early presidential election proved that the Yemeni people have confidence in the new leadership and have given it the right to build a united, stable civil state of Yemen.