Survey paints picture of Kuwaiti attitudes
KUWAIT CITY, Nov 4: A survey conducted by David Pollock from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy shows Kuwaitis have positive approval rating on several vital issues, foremost of which is the Iranian threat in the region and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, reports Al-Jarida daily.
The Al-Jarida newspaper published the full content of the analysis complete with statistics as posted on the ‘Washington for Near East Policy’ website without bearing any responsibility for what has been published on the site.
As Secretary of State Tillerson returns from the Middle East, where he focused on challenges from Iran and intra-Arab divisions, a new poll in Kuwait reveals a mixed yet largely favorable picture of popular attitudes on such issues.
On Iran’s “recent policies in the region,” Kuwaiti public opinion is as solidly negative as the Trump administration: 85 percent of Kuwaitis give Iran’s behavior an unfavorable rating today.
This marks a further decline for Tehran since the previous poll, in September 2015, when the figure was 74 percent negative. Notably, even among Kuwait’s substantial Shiite minority, the majority (63 percent) now voice disapproval of Iran’s policies.
On the sensitive demographic issue of sectarian distribution among Kuwait’s roughly 1.5 million citizens, the survey pinpoints the proportion of Shiite affiliation at 28.6 percent. Kuwait’s government is thus on solid ground in continuing to take steps against Iranian subversion.
Iran’s regional allies also receive highly unfavorable ratings from both Sunni and Shiite Kuwaitis. Hezbollah is viewed negatively by a remarkable 94
percent of the country’s Sunnis -- and by an even more remarkable 85 percent of the Shiite.
The proportion for Kuwaitis as a whole is 91 percent negative toward Hezbollah, registering a parallel downward trend from the 78 percent recorded two years ago. Similarly, the Houthis of Yemen get poor reviews from 92 percent of Kuwaiti Sunnis, and 72 percent of Kuwaiti Shiite.
On the current intra-Arab dispute over Qatar, which Kuwait (like the United States) is attempting to mediate, the Kuwaiti public takes a correspondingly moderate view.
The large majority (77 percent) rejects the boycott of Qatar, as pursued by the Arab quartet of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt. Exactly the same high percentage of Kuwaitis agree that “the best outcome is a compromise, in which all parties make some concessions to each other to reach a middle ground.” This too is generally in line with US initiatives on this issue.
More surprisingly, Kuwaitis are largely favorably disposed to a mediating role in a different regional dispute: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Despite strong expressions of anti-Israel sentiment by some Kuwaiti politicians, 60 percent of the country’s citizens agree that “Arab states should play a new role in Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, offering both sides incentives to take more moderate positions.”