A new cabinet, a new hope?

Somalia now has a new and largely diaspora cabinet, with 7 Americans, including the prime minister. This is exciting for a lot of people because it represents a departure from business as usual. The same corrupt faces who have made a living off of Somali politics have been deprived- at least in name- of the powers associated with being ministers. Of course that still leaves the bloated parliament with its many unsavory characters in the mix. Whether the current transitional federal government accomplishes anything in the next eight months, which is the duration of their mandate, depends partly on whether parliament will cooperate- unlikely- and whether the international community will provide them with the necessary support- also unlikely. The bright spot in all of this is that hopefully more diaspora and non-diaspora Somalis who have not made careers off of politicking will feel more comfortable stepping forward with new ideas. Because if anything is clear regarding the Somalia debacle, its that fresh ideas and fresh faces are desperately needed.