By Ferry Biedermann in Beirut
05/29 Financial Times
Syrians went to the polls on Sunday, marking a crowning achievement of Bashar al-Assad's seven years in power: he is firmly enough in charge to continue as president for another seven years, if not longer.
Mr Assad was the lone candidate in Sunday's Yes-or-No vote, just as hewas in 2000 when more than 97 per cent backed him to succeed hisfather, Hafez al-Assad. His father had ruled Syria with an iron fistfor three decades and the arrival of the young, partly western-educated Bashar sparked hopes among Syrians and westerndiplomats of a gradual liberalisation of the county's political and economic system.
But this poll and the parliamentary elections last month, in which theBa'ath party and its allies won an equally pre-ordained victory, are proof that the political system has not changed, say the few remaining dissidents who are still speaking out.
The government has cracked down hard on critics, handing out stiffjail terms in recent months to human rights activists and dissidents.
While maintaining a firm grip on the levers of power the government has, however, moved slowly to reform the centrally planned economy. The private sector has been given more room and commercial banks now operate in Syria. But some economists complain that the pace of reform is slow, resistance in the bureaucratic state structures strong and corruption a huge obstacle.
While the economy reportedly grew by 3 per cent last year and the government said that unemployment was falling, poverty remains endemic at about 30 per cent, concentrated in the rural north-eastern regions of the country.
In 2005 Mr Assad received his most severe political setback when Syrian troops, after an almost 30-year presence, withdrew from Lebanon under heavy international and Lebanese pressure. This followed the murder of Rafiq Hariri, the former Lebanese premier; Syria was widely blamed for the killing in Lebanon, but denies any link.
In addition to the prospect of a UN tribunal to deal with the murder of Hariri, Syria is facing US sanctions over its alleged support for militants in Iraq, the Palestinian territories and Lebanon.
Syria has struggled to keep the pivotal regional role it had under Hafez al-Assad. Its role as a transit for weapons and fighters to Iraq has contributed to a deterioration in its ties with the west and its Arab allies. Mr Assad's offer to start peace talks with Israel has been rejected as not serious.
But the government says it feels strengthened by recent international developments. It points to the victory of the Hamas movement in Palestinian elections last year, what it regards as the victory of its ally Hizbollah in last summer's war against Israel, and the defeat of President George W. Bush's Republican party in congressional elections.
It is also perhaps calculating that the escalating violence in Iraq will make Syrians wary of political change at home. "With Bashar, Syria is the homeland of security and stability," was the sms-message that the government sent to voters' cell phones on election day.
Hamas on Sunday said it would not halt rocket fire against Israel, as proposed by the Syrian president after the Jewish state vowed to press ahead with its attacks on Gaza, Reuters reports.
Ehud Olmert , Israeli prime minister, earlier pledged unlimited military action against Hamas.
Ayman Taha , Hamas spokesman, said: "Therefore we have no choice but to defend our people. We will not surrender and we will not raise the white flag."
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