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Kuwait: Kuwait's ruler may have defused a political crisis by dissolving parliament but some analysts say the next assembly and cabinet are no more likely to agree on much-needed economic reforms than the last.
Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, who has the last word in politics in Kuwait, set elections for May 17 to end a protracted row between lawmakers and ministers that had stalled political life since the cabinet was sworn in last year.
The wrangling delayed reforms. Even Saudi Arabia is opening up its economy, but Kuwait has yet to pass key laws needed to attract investment.
While the Arab world's second largest bourse has rallied on hopes that a new assembly would endorse more business-friendly reforms, analysts said it would be hard to wean Kuwaitis off a state that provides life-long jobs for 90 per cent of them.
They say the government has proved too weak to push through key reforms in the face of a parliament focused on popular issues, like blocking plans to close diwanyas, makeshift cafes.
On top of its economic concerns, Kuwait is deeply concerned about the prospect of war between its key ally, the United States, and its neighbour Iran.
Kuwait, whose own population is one third Shiite, has recently seen a spike in sectarian tension that has spread to parliament itself.
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