ADDIS ABABA: The United States government has welcomed and praised the appointment of Hailemariam Desalegn as Ethiopia's new prime minister after weeks of internal party friction had delayed his ascension to the country's top job. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said, “the United States warmly welcomes Ethiopia's selection of Hailemariam Desalegn as the country's new Prime Minister and Demeke Mekonnen as the new Deputy Prime Minister. “We commend the government of Ethiopia for undertaking an historic, peaceful, and constitutional transition of power,” Nuland's statement said. It comes as the US also recently pushed a healthcare and development package to the East African country in an effort to help bolster health services in rural areas of Ethiopia. “We have had a productive relationship with Hailemariam in his capacity as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. We look forward to working with him in his new position to advance issues of mutual concern to the United States and Ethiopia, including strengthening economic development, advancing democracy and human rights, and promoting regional security,” said the US. Former American Ambassador to Ethiopia David Shinn recently said it was not a shock that Desalegn was approved as the top party official. “I think it was almost predictable in that Hailemariam was being groomed by Prime Minister Meles to succeed him. I think a lot of thought has gone into this selection," he said. Shinn said that the country can now turn to its future and progress toward democracy and better human rights, but he did not give a prognosis for that future or what it might look like. What that future will be is anyone's guess at the present moment. Many in the country are hopeful that the memory of late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi will be upheld and Desalegn will follow in his footsteps politically. However, there is a growing number of activists and observers who are looking for a new path and one that Desalegn can help create that respects human rights and the democratic process. “We just want to move forward and get things back on track," a shopkeeper in Addis Ababa told Bikyamasr.com, in reference to the infighting that had delayed the new PM from officially being sworn in. There is a growing debate over the future of Ethiopia's political situation, with many calling for dramatic changes to the current status quo of absolute power by the ruling party.
