Ba'ath Party Values Under Review

Internal discussions are taking place to adapt the ruling Ba’ath party’s socialist principles to reflect recent economic and social developments in the country, said a prominent party member in a May 28 interview with pro-government daily Al-Watan.



However, the party will not give up its role as a leading power in Syria, Haytham Satayhi, the head of the party’s culture and media bureau, told the newspaper.



In recent years, Syria has been shifting from a state-run economy towards a more market-oriented one.



Stayhi said in the report that while the party’s ultimate goals would remain the same, it is adopting a new, more “realistic” plan to focus on harmonising Syria’s economy with that of other Arab countries.



According to the newspaper, the official said that the aim of this re-evaluation was to find a link between the socialist principles of the party and the private sector in order to encourage local and foreign investments, which he said would “offer guarantees” to the poorer classes.



Satayhi suggested that the party wanted to retain the upper hand in every sphere, said the report.



“We want to involve the party more and more in work on the ground so that it becomes the leader of the state and society [in every way],” he added.