Government Losing Support Over Economic Policies

The popularity of Prime Minister Muhammed Naji al-Otari’s government is waning because of its switch to free-market economic policies, according to Ziad Arabia, a writer and researcher based in Aleppo.



In an article published by the All4Syria news site on May 30, Arabia said the present cabinet had inherited economic and governance problems dating from the late 1960s, which were now getting worse. After decades of indecision on economic policy matters, the government was using a mix of state control and free-market strategies.



The result, however, was deep frustration among the public, the author said, listing more than 30 reasons why the Otari cabinet was losing popularity such as rising unemployment, poverty, inflation, crime, the lack of affordable housing, corruption and the marginalisation of civil society.



Arabia said simply replacing the current government with a new one would not fix the economic problems, as some have suggested. But he argued that if Otari was removed, Syria might get another, more charismatic prime minister who could connect with ordinary people and regain their trust.



All4Syria is published by Ayman Abdul Nour, a Baath party member who advocates for reform in Syria.