Al-Sudani and Al-Maliki: Will this lead to the release of the cabinet reshuffle in Iraq?

Al-Sudani and Al-Maliki: Will this lead to the release of the cabinet reshuffle in Iraq?

5-5-2023

Movements are taking place at several levels to contain the discrepancies that have recently escalated between the poles of state administration in Iraq, and its fragments affected the relationship between Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani and the leader of the State of Law coalition, Nuri al-Maliki.

Baghdad – Iraqi political circles say that the reception of the leader of the State of Law coalition, Nuri al-Maliki, to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani, and then his meeting with Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi, falls within the framework of moves to overcome the differences between the poles of the “state administration” coalition, which reached a dangerous level during the period. past.

The same circles believe that the ruling coalition in Iraq realizes that the continuation of the differences between its poles and the ongoing competition between a number of them will only lead to its disintegration, and this will constitute great damage to the existing political process, and it also represents a prize for political opponents, led by the Sadrist movement.

The same circles point out that Al-Sudani’s approach to Al-Maliki is not without appeasement, after the differences between them came out into the open, pointing to the role played by the Wisdom Movement and the Al-Fateh Alliance to convince the Prime Minister of this step, because the widening gap between the two sides will inevitably affect the government.

The circles expect that the meeting will lead to the dismantling of the general budget contract, and the ministerial amendments that Al-Sudani insists on. On the other hand, he received reservations from Al-Maliki, especially as it affects ministers close to him. After his meeting with the leader of the State of Law coalition, the Iraqi Prime Minister stressed the importance of speeding up the approval of the draft general budget law.

A statement by Al-Sudani’s office said that the latter “met Al-Maliki and the meeting dealt with the most prominent developments in political affairs, and the ongoing government work in implementing the basic vocabulary, which was included in the government curriculum, and ways to implement them, and the emphasis on speeding up the approval of the general budget law; So that the government can implement its development and service plans that are in the interest of citizens.

The Prime Minister stressed the importance of concerted efforts of all political forces. In order to support the government in its executive work, through which it aims to provide basic services and improve the standard of living for citizens.

For his part, Al-Maliki stressed during the meeting, according to a statement from his office, the importance of uniting efforts in order to overcome challenges and difficulties, preserve political, economic and security gains, accelerate the approval of the federal budget, achieve the aspirations of the Iraqi people and meet their urgent demands.

Observers believe that the apathy that has characterized the recent relationship between Al-Sudani and Al-Maliki, both of whom belong to the Dawa Party, goes beyond a mere difference in views or positions regarding ways to manage government affairs, to the existence of a kind of competition between the two men.

Observers point out that Al-Sudani, since assuming the premiership last October, has shown a tendency to be independent from the former prime minister, who is considered the owner of the upper hand in the coordination framework, and who was the supporter of his assumption of the ministerial position.

They explain that the path followed by Al-Sudani raises Al-Maliki’s concern, especially since the former has shown in recent months a remarkable ability to deal with the challenges ahead, whether he is at home or in a relationship abroad.

The differences between the two sides surfaced when al-Maliki expressed, during a television interview a few days ago, his objection to the upcoming cabinet reshuffle in the Sudanese government, stressing that he did not know the prime minister’s intention to replace any of the members of the government after the Eid al-Fitr holiday. The Prime Minister

In response, Al-Sudani said, “The cabinet reshuffle is a constitutional right of the prime minister and not in the mood of this or that leader or political leader,” stressing that he insists on the change and will present the names of the ministers to parliament at the appropriate time.

Last December, Al-Sudani gave the ministers a six-month grace period to evaluate their performance, and gave governors, general managers, and the rest of the senior employees in the state a grace period of three months.

Leaks have revealed that Al-Sudani intends to dismiss about ten ministers, including those who enjoy the support of Al-Maliki, which apparently provoked the latter.

Observers say that Al-Sudani’s approach to Al-Maliki was under the influence of pressure from the components of the coordination framework, especially from the leader of the Al-Fateh Alliance, Hadi Al-Amiri, and the leader of the Wisdom Movement, Ammar Al-Hakim, in light of the two parties realizing that the widening gap between them would reflect negatively on the status of the framework, and this is what It must be avoided, especially since there are political forces waiting for any shake-up within the Shiite alliance loyal to Iran.

On Thursday, the leader of the Al-Fateh Alliance, Ali Al-Fatlawi, revealed changes that will take place at three levels in state institutions, including the ministerial team at the end of this May.

Al-Fatlawi said in press statements, “The names that will be changed have not been announced by the Sudanese government until the moment, but every change will come after verifying the existence of a failure to perform tasks, whether at the level of ministries or their institutions in the governorates.”

He explained that “the government is concerned with announcing the names, and no other party has the right to announce any list of changes.” Al-Fatlawi indicated that “the changes will include special grades, cabinets, and governors, and they will be officially announced at the end of May, that is, when the 6-month deadline promised by the Prime Minister expires.” He stressed that “changes will be made in accordance with the principle of a comprehensive assessment of all aspects of the state and in accordance with a transparent framework.”

◙ The apathy that characterized the relationship between al-Sudani and al-Maliki, both of whom belong to the Dawa Party, goes beyond a mere divergence of views.

It is noteworthy that Al-Maliki had dispatched his representatives last Monday during a meeting of the leaders of the State Administration Coalition that was held at the home of the head of the Sovereignty Coalition, Khamis Al-Khanjar, and was attended by the Prime Minister.

After his meeting with the Prime Minister, the leader of the State of Law coalition received the Speaker of Parliament, whose relationship is also experiencing tension, especially since al-Halbousi views the Sunni political movement against him as a result of al-Maliki’s incitement to overthrow him from the presidency of Parliament.

Observers say that the ongoing meetings clearly aim to correct the political compass of the State Administration Coalition, especially since this coalition will be on a date with important elections, which are the provincial councils, on which the coordination framework is betting to consolidate its control over the Iraqi state.

The framework began preparing for it early in order to avoid any surprises. The representative of the League of the Righteous, Ali Turki, said on Thursday, “Since the approval of the third amendment to the provincial and district council elections law at the end of last March, the political forces have begun to move and forge alliances in order to prepare for democratic competition for local elections.”

He added, in a press statement, that “the political forces announced that they will come down in one list that includes a number of blocs and parties, while the Al-Fateh Alliance will come down with one list that includes Badr, Al-Asa’ib, Sanad and other forces.”

Turki pointed out that “Al-Fatah’s descent with one list does not mean that it will abandon the coordination framework, as it is still sticking to the exemplary gains,” stressing that “the forces of the coordination framework will remain in their alliance before and after the local elections.”

The House of Representatives had voted on the third amendment to the House of Representatives, provincial and district elections law No. 12 of 2018 on the twenty-seventh of last March.

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