No bread price hike, state prestige will be restored

Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said on Tuesday that his government will not increase the price of bread and assured that the basic food staple "will maintain its current price." He also said during an Iftar, the Ramadan fast-breaking dinner, hosted by the Ministry of Political Development and Parliamentary Affairs on Monday evening, that the government was determined to restore the state's prestige and could no longer tolerate any chaos, abuse of general administration and strikes "that could have led to the government going bankrupt." "The government has actually and smoothly taken certain steps to restore the state's authority and will continue doing so, working in earnest to boost the state of law and strengthen the institutions. It is an effort that warrants collective cooperation and solidarity to fulfil the message that we aspire for," he said in comments while replying to remarks by heads of political parties. However, he emphasized that restoring the people’s confidence in the state institutions required fairness and justice on the part of the authorities, pledging likewise "since the higher national interest requires building a strong, firm and just state." Minister of Political Development and Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Momani said the gathering was meant to underpin the government's connection with political forces as an expression of its openness and keenness to keep them posted on its policies and stay in tune with them on national issues. Momani said his ministry had "an ambitious" program to deal with political parties in the next phase. Party leaders have demanded new elections and a political parties’ law "to take the country forward towards a better reality, and support and encourage the parties to participate in the upcoming municipal elections." They stressed "national reconciliation" and dialogue as the key to finding proper solutions to national issues and to pull out the country from the current situation, while underlining the unease felt by the people on account of rising prices. They also called for "an integrated" national program to build a strong and independent economy. Some party leaders also said that there was "a sense among the people about public freedoms being curtailed," referring to the detainees, a crackdown on online news websites and a crisis gripping the print media.