Syria’s Baath Party Leadership Cleans House
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Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Everyone in Syria’s top government leadership is out of a job. Everyone, that is, except President Bashar al-Assad.
In an abrupt power restructuring, the nation’s Baath Party has undergone a major shake-up that includes the removal of Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa, who has been in his post since 2006.
All told, there will be 16 new leaders of the Baath Party, with al-Assad retaining his role as secretary general.
A fixture in Syria for the past 50 years, the Baath Party remains the most powerful bloc in government.
Bassam Abu Abdullah, director of the Damascus Center for Strategic Studies, explains that the Baath Party was considered old and inflexible, especially since the popular uprising began in March 2011 that has led to more than 100,000 deaths.
Abu Abdullah said the action by the party’s central committee “indicates the failure of leadership and the dissatisfaction from within the Baath party base.”
It remains to be seen whether this will change al-Assad’s attitude about fighting to the death in order to stay Syria’s leader.
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