After a week of contentious, sometimes raucous deliberations, Fatah, the foremost Palestinian nationalist movement, has managed to elect a new leadership committee. This is no small feat for an organisation that most Palestinians see as fractious, corrupt and without compass. Indeed, the Sixth General Congress was mired in controversy and infighting that threatened to erode further the credibility of a party arguably on the wane. Senior Fatah officials in exile denounced the very holding of the conference in Bethlehem, in Israeli-occupied Palestine, and alleged that Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Fatah and chairman of the Palestinian Authority, was merely mounting a power grab by stuffing the audience with obedient followers.
In a sense, they were right. This was an opportunity for the embattled Mr Abbas to assert his authority, mobilise his supporters and inject new energy into his party – and despite difficult odds, he took it. He sidelined rivals from the old guard and managed to squash dissenters complaining about his record of underachievement and corruption. It was always essential for Mr Abbas to appear in full control to reassure his Arab and western supporters. He can now turn to the international community with more confidence and legitimacy, and even use his multiple hats to placate his various constituencies. As leader of Fatah he can continue to claim the mantle of Palestinian resistance. As leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation he can lead the negotiations with Israel. And as chairman of the PA, he can focus on institution-building and operate on both the Arab and international stages.
The conference was notable in another respect: the generational change that saw 14 newcomers join the 18 elected members of the central committee. Many will welcome such fresh blood, but given that the previous committee was formed 20 years ago, we should not overestimate the extent of the renewal. Mohammed Dahlan and Jibril Rajoub were the much-feared security chiefs under Yasir Arafat, and Marwan Barghouti, arguably Fatah’s most popular figure, was a leader of both Intifadas. These newcomers will bring some political pragmatism to a movement still enamoured with grand ideological slogans, especially about Israel.
An energised Fatah must now gear for the future. First it must decide whether and how to go about Palestinian reconciliation. Fatah lost control of Gaza to Hamas in June 2007, a humiliation that compounded electoral defeat by its Islamist rivals in 2006. Without Palestinian unity, however, the prospects of a successful peace process aimed at establishing a Palestinian state are dim. Fatah needs to overcome its rancour, capitalise on Hamas’s declining popularity and seize the political and moral high ground. This means uprooting the corruption and nepotism that so many Palestinians associate with Fatah. Then, it must work to ensure that Mr Abbas wins the national elections scheduled for early 2010. This means that Mr Abbas and Fatah have six months at most to regain popular support. Finally, it must prepare its own future. Mr Abbas is 74, and this will probably be his final term in office. The newcomers must avoid at all costs a fratricidal struggle for power. Only by strengthening Fatah’s internal institutions and mechanisms will this happen. That’s a tall order for a movement that has disappointed so many and so much.
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