Expert: Iraq is in the eye of an economic storm, and the crisis has gone beyond patchwork solutions.
Expert: Iraq is in the eye of an economic storm, and the crisis has gone beyond patchwork solutions.
2026/01/27
Economic expert Manar Al-Obaidi confirmed on Tuesday that Iraq has effectively entered the heart of an economic and financial storm that can no longer be addressed with patchwork solutions or temporary remedies, noting that matters have gone beyond the warning stage and reached a real hurricane spiral that puts the country before a harsh test that will reveal its ability to maintain unity and social cohesion.
Al-Obaidi said in a post on his Facebook page: “The fundamental question now is what comes after this hurricane,” indicating that failure to overcome this stage portends a serious social collapse and disintegration of the national fabric that may extend to security dimensions, especially since the crisis has exceeded the ability of official institutions alone to contain it and has become a shared responsibility that requires restoring the lost trust between the state and the citizen as a basic condition for any reform path.
He added that the only remaining link between the citizen and the institutions is the ability to meet immediate financial obligations, noting that any talk of future plans or painful surgical operations will be met with widespread public rejection unless trust is built first, considering that the approach based on draining resources to secure fragile stability has reached its final stages and cannot be continued.
Al-Ubaidi stressed that the only way out is through absolute candor and transparency, starting with opening the file of public budgets from 2003 until today, and reopening all corruption files without exception to hold those responsible accountable and reveal the fate of public funds, stressing the need to reduce the expenses of senior ranks and privileges as a moral step to reduce the gap between society and the authority.
He added that attempts to lull the public into complacency, suggest that there is no need for real reforms, and promote the possibility of paying dues without cost, are nothing but an inflation of a bubble that is about to burst, and the consequences of this will be dire if it happens.
alforatnews.iq
