The government and polygamy
The political arena indicates the nearness of a new political ‘marriage’ in which the government will be the groom as usual while the young bride will be the remnants of the opposition. According to the constitution and political norms, such ‘marriage’ contract is surely a true legal one in terms of acceptance by both sides.
The opposition’s shy decision to take part in the recent elections, the inaugural session witnessing the speaker’s election and the prime minister’s grilling session seem to have exposed this secret marriage to the public. Meanwhile, a few of the previous opposition MPs will now hesitate to officially declare that they have a truce with the government and thus, immunizing it from political accountability on one hand, and admit losing the parliamentary majority needed to pass legislations they had always described as corrupt and oppressing to liberties on the other. They only settled for a deal to return some citizenship they were behind withdrawing in the first place, which was the dowry paid in this marriage contract.
The government seems to welcome such ‘marriage’ because it strongly believes in polygamy and uses it as a means to retain its prestige as the ‘dominating man of the family’. This marriage also solves some problems, especially after the well-off wealthy and resourceful groom fulfills all the young beautiful bride’s demands.
However, polygamy involves jealousy amongst wives. The government already has the first wife and the mother of its kids; the historical and conventional pro-government bloc in parliament. Naturally enough, the first wife will feel jealous whenever a new wife shares the bounties ‘she’ used to enjoy solely. It might, however, accept the status quo but it will always keep nagging and demanding.
It will also try to create problems between her ‘man’ and the newcomer. Well, through long experience, no matter how detached the government may seem on having new wives, this will always remain temporary and might end due to slightest dispute, especially since political ‘marriages’ are based on certain vanities that would soon come to an end.
This is not the first time the government has made a political deal with a bloc or parliamentary figures to pass certain bills or get off the hock in certain political dilemmas before it usually disintegrates with them. History is full of such temporary tactical alliances as the government will make allies with tribes while it also makes allies with liberals.
Either way, the first wife will always remain the most faithful one and the one that maintains her marriage by protecting her own interests through rubber-stamping and approving whatever the government wants. In addition, the political formula of this ‘first wife’ includes all Kuwaiti sects and the government that will eventually have to please the mother of its kids regardless of the headaches she will cause for a while with the result of leaving all other wives’ kids, the people, at a loss without getting enough care or concern for their future as long as different wives co-exist peacefully.