He shares equal billing with dad on most walls, although ministry fronts give the late president a slight edge. Syrians and Western envoys who have met Dr. Bashar describe him as a good listener, bright, articulate, open-minded, confident without being overbearing, frank and thoughtful. Unlike his father, he is not adamant about speaking Arabic, although he usually does so during official meetings. Much is made of his exposure to the West through studying medicine in England, although he spent only nine months there. But when Syrians are asked if they like their new president, the responses vary.
Officials tend to wax overly poetic.
Some people point out that the alternatives like his thuggish, exiled Uncle Rifaat would have been far worse. The most common reaction by far is that Syria needs a young man with a feel for the larger world, one who can sweep away the old leadership's Neanderthals. Some of them have been ministers for so long that they should turn them over to the archaeologists to deal with. But Syrians are impatient for real change and point uneasily to signs that having a young president does not guarantee more freedom. Take the Internet, which Dr. Bashar championed as head of the Syrian Computer Society before becoming president.