Dr. Mohammed Al-Baseeri, the State Minister for Parliament Affairs, said that the cabinet had maintained its faith in the minister due to his ability to reply to the articles of the grilling in a cogent and pragmatic way and to disprove the accusations.
A Cabinet insider who attended the meeting said that its members are confident that the number of MPs supporting the ‘no confidence’ motion will not exceed 18, with the Cabinet working on reducing this number.
The official also revealed that the number of MPs opposing the motion had increased to 29, adding that the Cabinet will be well represented at today’s parliamentary session where the motion is to be presented, reported Al-Qabas.
A member of the Public Work Bloc said, however, that the Cabinet’s statistics are wrong, saying that they are preparing for "surprises" in today’s voting patterns, although MP Hassan Al-Qallaf announced that he had cut a foreign trip short in order to return to the country to support the minister and vote against the motion.
The Cabinet insider said that Sheikh Jaber Al-Khaled himself had expressed "relief" to his fellow Cabinet members regarding the probable results of today’s motion. The minister apparently stated that his communications with MPs revealed that the majority had been convinced by his responses to the articles of the grilling and were thus set to vote against the ‘no confidence’ motion.
The Cabinet insider also revealed that the team assigned to monitor parliamentary activities following the grilling and the ‘no confidence’ motion had reported to the Cabinet on the results of its meetings with various National Assembly blocs. The team indicated that many MPs would like this parliamentary term to end in agreement between the executive and legislative authorities, paving the way for further cooperation and harmony in the next term. The insider also criticized what he said was the unreliable
information on which MPs based their accusations against ministers, calling for an end to unfair attempts to smear the image of Cabinet members.
The National Democratic Alliance, meanwhile, issued a statement calling on MPs to support the ‘no confidence’ motion, accusing Sheikh Jaber Al-Khaled of being unqualified for the ministerial position, while the Democratic Tribune warned the Cabinet against using the selective dispensation of privileges to win support.
Monday’s meeting also saw the Cabinet discussing the interior ministry’s expenses in order to challenge MPs’ accusations on the issue. The Cabinet insider explained that private expenses are dealt with confidentially by the Audit Bureau and that increase in expenses requested by the ministry was required to complete vital security projects.
The Cabinet failed to discuss the new Municipal Council appointments, deferring this until its next meeting. Roudhan Al-Roudhan, the State Minister of Cabinet Affairs, said that the Cabinet members also discussed a recommendation that the government buy the private hospitals in Kuwait in order to raise the quality of public health services in the country. The Cabinet members also submitted the legislation for the Capital Market Association to the Cabinet’s financial and economic committee for discussion of amendments to it.
