Outgoing State Councillor Luo Gan will read the report on govern ment restructuring that premier-designate Zhu Rongji was scheduled to present at the NPC tomorrow.
The report, which will provide the rationale behind reducing the number of ministerial-level State Council units from 40 to about 29, was drafted by a team reporting to Mr Zhu.
Beijing sources said the leadership decided it would be 'tactically better' for Mr Luo to take the heat for cutting tens of thousands of civil service jobs.
They added a large number of deputies represented the interests of ministries and departments that stood to lose from the restructuring.
This is despite claims by NPC spokesman Zeng Jianhui yesterday that there was solid support for the restructuring.
'Conditions are now ripe for launching a restructuring programme since a consensus has been reached on the need for such a programme,' Xinhua quoted Mr Zeng as saying.
