On 5 December 2007, a decree restructuring ministries increased the powers of the Secretary-General of the Presidency at the expense of those of the Prime Minister, and on 3 January 2008 Conté dismissed and replaced Justin Morel Junior, the Minister of Communication and Government Spokesman, without consulting Kouyaté. On 4 January, Kouyaté demanded that Morel be restored to his position and said that he would not sit at the Council of Ministers with Morel's replacement. Labor unions announced plans to begin a new "unlimited general strike" on 10 January, demanding that Conté's agreement with the unions be properly implemented and that Morel be restored. Kouyaté's government chose to attempt to resolve the situation through dialogue with Conté in hopes of maintaining peace. On 9 January, the unions withdrew their call for a strike. Tensions between Kouyaté and Conté increased over the decision by Kouyaté's government to repatriate Chantal Cole, Conté's advisor in charge of communications at the presidential palace, to France; in addition, they disagreed over Kouyaté's decision to allow Libyans to manage luxury hotels. Dismissal and subsequent events In a decree read on state television on 20 May 2008, Kouyaté was dismissed by Conté and replaced by Ahmed Tidiane Souaré. This was considered surprising; it had been generally believed that Kouyaté would not be dismissed prior to the planned December 2008 parliamentary election. Following the announcement, protests were reported in Conakry and Kouroussa, although the cities were reportedly calm again by 21 May; protests were also reported in Kankan on 20 May and 21 May. Kouyaté was widely considered a disappointment in his role as Prime Minister, and his unpopularity meant that his dismissal was not greeted with major unrest of the kind that led to his appointment a year earlier; in particular, his time in office was associated with rising food prices, deepening the country's economic problems. He was also accused of having presidential ambitions. Because he had not consulted with the opposition when forming his government and had not invited opposition politicians to participate in it, the opposition welcomed his dismissal and urged Souaré to avoid his mistakes. The Secretary-General of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), Amadou Oury Bah, described Kouyaté as "a danger to the democratic process". One union leader, Rabiatou Serah Diallo, said that until the composition of Souaré's government was announced, she had nothing to say. Souaré was sworn in on