Official Parties Accused of Ineffectiveness

In an unprecedented step, the official newspaper Al-Thawra has strongly criticised the pro-government National Progressive Front, a coalition of political parties first set up in 1972.



The coalition, made up of eleven political parties and led by the ruling Baath party, held its annual conference in Damascus last week.



In an editorial published on November 27, Al-Thawra editor-in-chief Asad Abud criticised the coalition for not participating actively in domestic politics and not contributing to civic life.



Abud claimed that all members of the coalition – except for the Baath party – were ineffective and were not living up to what was expected of them. He said the coalition’s activities had no effect on ordinary people, and that the parties simply wait for the government to take a position before acting on any issue themselves.