Iraq’s Prime Minister Haidar Abadi finally presented his new
cabinet of technocrats to parliament. It now has a little over a week to
discuss the nominees. The whole process to come up with the ministers has been
fraught with problems with the majority of the ruling parties opposing Abadi’s
plans. The main problem is that Abadi’s cabinet threatens the ruling parties
hold on the government. What has made the situation worse is Abadi’s unwillingness
to consult with others and to present a clear plan. The premier is already
facing a difficult situation, and his alienating the other lists is only making
the situation worse.
On March
31, 2016 a list was presented of Premier Abadi’s nominees for his new
cabinet. That led Moqtada al-Sadr to call off his protests at Baghdad’s Green
Zone, which had annoyed the prime minister, but it created more problems in the
process. First, the nominee for Oil Minister Nizar Salim withdrew his
candidacy claiming there was no agreement amongst the ruling blocs over the new
cabinet. Salim was correct. Sadr is the only national leader who seemed to
agree with Abadi’s move. It was reported
that the Sadrists, the Supreme Council and Dawa Iraq Organization were the only
ones to submit candidates to Abadi. All the others refused to go along with the
move. First, the Kurdish Alliance complained that Abadi
never explained how their ministers had failed, why they should be replaced,
that the nominees don’t represent the political parties, and that the prime
minister was ignoring the right of the Kurd to choose their own
representatives. In turn, they claimed
they would not vote on the new minister in parliament. The Solution List, which
is part of the Sunni alliance, said
that the cabinet was a way to exclude some parties from power. Beforehand, Iyad
Allawi
and Mutahidun
stated that they would not give up their ministries. The Supreme Council countered
Abadi’s reforms by saying that if the government were to be technocratic and
non-partisan than Abadi should resign as well. Needless to say, Abadi’s program
has angered almost everyone. The ministries are how the ruling parties control
the government. Each one is run like a private fiefdom, and allows the parties
to hand out patronage via jobs and steal via corrupt contracts. It would be
expected that if the technocrats were to be approved they would move to get rid
of all the political hacks that occupy the director generals, the managers,
etc. That is a major threat, which none of the parties are willing to agree to
as of now.
What has made the whole process worse for the prime minister
is his apparent inability or unwillingness to consult with others. Since Abadi
first started talking about reforms last year, he has never
offered a clear or coherent program. It was a surprise
to all when he first came out with his proposals. Since then the complaints have
mounted into a chorus. Members from within his own Dawa
and State of Law wanted
him to talk to them before making major decisions, but he didn’t. Abadi’s two
main allies, the Supreme Council’s Ammar Hakim and Moqtada al-Sadr have
repeatedly made similar statements. The National Alliance, which all those
parties belong to said
that it would not follow Abadi’s program if they didn’t know about the details.
Members of the Kurdish Alliance have told
the press that Abadi’s plan has never been made clear to them. Finally,
Allawi’s bloc complained
about the lack of transparency in Abadi’s decisions. There is no way the premier
can be successful unless he builds consensus. None exists right now. A major
reason why so many parties turned on Maliki was that he only talked with his
small core of advisers when making policy. Abadi, who was supposed to be the
anti-Maliki, and came in talking about repairing relations with the other
parties, has instead followed in his predecessor’s footsteps. That makes a
successful transition with the cabinet all the more difficult.
SOURCES
AIN, “Solution: afraid new technocratic government is an
attempt exclude,” 4/1/16
International Crisis Group, “Iraq: Conflict Alert,” 8/24/15
Kazimi, Nibras, “What is happening in Iraq?” Talisman Gate,
Again, 10/29/15
Al Mada, “Abadi staggering to present his cabinet to
parliament for fear of his government being overthrown,” 3/26/16
- “Citizen and Kurdish MPs criticize ambiguity of
Ministerial Committee,” 3/27/16
- “”Commander of necessity” and not cooperating with the
quartet raise the wrath of State of Law against the Prime Minister,” 10/28/15
- “Kurds and Sunnis are waiting for clarification of the
Prime Minister: We reject the removal of our ministers without justification,”
3/30/16
- “Large blocs reluctant..and small ones send their
candidates to the ministerial committee,” 3/24/16
- “The new government is in a closed envelop until next week
pending parliamentary vote,” 4/1/16
- “Sayadi: 45 deputies from the State of Law withdraw
authority from Abadi,” 10/28/15
- “Shiite parties leave presidencies commission … the Kurds
and Sunnis hold the balance,” 3/24/16
Mamouri, Ali, “Will Abadi put his money where his mouth is?”
Al Monitor, 3/1/16
Mardini, Ramzy, “No Authority: Shiite Minimization in a
Fragmented Iraq,” World Politics Review, 12/8/15
Martin, Patrick with Anagnostos, Emily, Bessette, Rachel and
Werman, Hannah, “Warning: Iraq’s Shi’a Parties Split Over Cabinet Reshuffle
Amidst Protests,” Institute for the Study of War, 3/25/16
New Sabah, “Abadi identifies two paths of reform and choice
of ministers reached an advanced stage,” 2/29/16
- “Kurdistan objects to Abadi’s list and calls on the
government to obtain its representation,” 4/1/16
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “Iraqi Premier To Elevate
Technocrats, Demote Politicos In Cabinet,” 2/10/16
Rasheed, Ahmed, “Iraq’s coalition members press PM to
consult before ordering reforms,” Reuters, 10/28/15
Rudaw, “Kurdish ministerial nominee withdraws from new Iraqi
cabinet,” 4/1/16
Sotaliraq, “Kurds threaten to withdraw from the government,
will not vote on any candidate in the new cabinet,” 4/2/16
Xinhua, “Iraqi parliament says Abadi’s reforms should comply
with constitution,” 11/2/15
No comments:
Post a Comment