Prime Minister Abadi edges forward
Prime Minister Abadi edges forward
August 17, 2016 | 12:00 AM
Haider Al-Abadi
August 17, 2016 | 12:00 AM
Last Updated: August 17, 2016 | 12:00 AM
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Haider Al-Abadi[/caption]Iraq's Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi has scored what may prove to be a significant victory in his struggle to unravel the kleptocratic political network established by his deeply-discredited predecessor Nouri Al-Maliki. He has persuaded the parliament in Baghdad to accept a technocrat as Iraq’s new oil minister. Jabar Ali Al-Luaibi has been the boss of the South Oil Company, which runs the largest number of Iraqi oil fields.
Abadi also got legislators to accept his picks for the education, housing, transport and water ministries. But two important portfolios, foreign affairs and finance, remain unfilled with much more wheeler-dealing in prospect before acceptable candidates can be found.
The Iraqi political establishment has been described by one Arab diplomat as “a disgrace” in which leaders have been more interested in securing lucrative patronage for themselves than in addressing the immense challenges of putting Iraq back on its economic and social feet.
When Abadi took on the prime minister’s job in September 2014, few rated his chances of success. Maliki and his corrupt political faction still haunted the corridors of power. Yet the new prime minister knew that he enjoyed popular support and there was a huge expectation of reform riding on his shoulders. This strong mandate was, however, a double-edged sword. The longer that Maliki and his venal old guard could obstruct Abadi’s attempts to clean up government, the more vocal would become the disappointment of his supporters on the street. And so it has proved.
It might be expected that a new prime minister could immediately choose a new cabinet. In the UK, Prime Minister Theresa May cleared out most senior cabinet members appointed by her predecessor David Cameron. But Abadi spent more than a year trying to negotiate a reallocation of cabinet posts without success. This March, he took the bull by the horns and appointed a whole new cabinet line-up. Parliament rejected the move but demonstrated deep divisions, to the extent that legislators actually exchanged blows in the chamber.
At this point, popular patience snapped. The Green Zone, Baghdad’s supposedly impregnable government and diplomatic area, was invaded by demonstrators furious at the failure of the promised reforms, the appalling lack of security and the continuing corruption that poisons public life.
Abadi appears to have used this public display of wrath to his advantage.
But it has taken three months for him to secure approval of five cabinet posts. The oil portfolio taken up by Luaibi is of huge importance since Iraqi oilfield infrastructure requires significant upgrading while the optimum exploitation of reserves needs to be reassessed. But there is an obstruction in the pipeline channeling the cash from the 4.5 million barrels of oil a day that the country is currently producing. That blockage is the finance ministry.
Oil is Iraq’s main source of income. The disbursement of that wealth is the key. The State Oil Marketing Organization sells the oil and deposits the proceeds in the Treasury over which the finance ministry holds sway. Thus unless Abadi can find an acceptable finance minister, the person finally given that role will have the real power in the cabinet. Premier Abadi can decree whatever he wants, but nothing will happen unless the finance minister provides the cash. The battle for this ministerial appointment is, therefore, one that Abadi simply cannot afford to lose.
Haider Al-Abadi[/caption]Iraq's Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi has scored what may prove to be a significant victory in his struggle to unravel the kleptocratic political network established by his deeply-discredited predecessor Nouri Al-Maliki. He has persuaded the parliament in Baghdad to accept a technocrat as Iraq’s new oil minister. Jabar Ali Al-Luaibi has been the boss of the South Oil Company, which runs the largest number of Iraqi oil fields.
Abadi also got legislators to accept his picks for the education, housing, transport and water ministries. But two important portfolios, foreign affairs and finance, remain unfilled with much more wheeler-dealing in prospect before acceptable candidates can be found.
The Iraqi political establishment has been described by one Arab diplomat as “a disgrace” in which leaders have been more interested in securing lucrative patronage for themselves than in addressing the immense challenges of putting Iraq back on its economic and social feet.
When Abadi took on the prime minister’s job in September 2014, few rated his chances of success. Maliki and his corrupt political faction still haunted the corridors of power. Yet the new prime minister knew that he enjoyed popular support and there was a huge expectation of reform riding on his shoulders. This strong mandate was, however, a double-edged sword. The longer that Maliki and his venal old guard could obstruct Abadi’s attempts to clean up government, the more vocal would become the disappointment of his supporters on the street. And so it has proved.
It might be expected that a new prime minister could immediately choose a new cabinet. In the UK, Prime Minister Theresa May cleared out most senior cabinet members appointed by her predecessor David Cameron. But Abadi spent more than a year trying to negotiate a reallocation of cabinet posts without success. This March, he took the bull by the horns and appointed a whole new cabinet line-up. Parliament rejected the move but demonstrated deep divisions, to the extent that legislators actually exchanged blows in the chamber.
At this point, popular patience snapped. The Green Zone, Baghdad’s supposedly impregnable government and diplomatic area, was invaded by demonstrators furious at the failure of the promised reforms, the appalling lack of security and the continuing corruption that poisons public life.
Abadi appears to have used this public display of wrath to his advantage.
But it has taken three months for him to secure approval of five cabinet posts. The oil portfolio taken up by Luaibi is of huge importance since Iraqi oilfield infrastructure requires significant upgrading while the optimum exploitation of reserves needs to be reassessed. But there is an obstruction in the pipeline channeling the cash from the 4.5 million barrels of oil a day that the country is currently producing. That blockage is the finance ministry.
Oil is Iraq’s main source of income. The disbursement of that wealth is the key. The State Oil Marketing Organization sells the oil and deposits the proceeds in the Treasury over which the finance ministry holds sway. Thus unless Abadi can find an acceptable finance minister, the person finally given that role will have the real power in the cabinet. Premier Abadi can decree whatever he wants, but nothing will happen unless the finance minister provides the cash. The battle for this ministerial appointment is, therefore, one that Abadi simply cannot afford to lose.
