Mustafa al-Kazemi to form government in Iraq

Iraq seems to have gone on a loop. Since the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi at the end of November last year, the country is unable to find a modicum of political stability. A little more than a month ago, Mohammed Tawfiq Allaoui, who was then responsible for forming a government cabinet, resigned his post after the country's parliament failed to give him its confidence.

This Thursday, different protagonists, but the same story. Adnan al-Zurfi - who was appointed by President Barham Saleh after Allawi's failure - was unable to win the support of the Council of Representatives, the lower house of the Iraqi legislature. He was fundamentally opposed by the Shiite majority political groups.

As it could not be otherwise, Al-Zurfi also resigned. “My decision not to proceed with my nomination is in the interest of the preservation of Iraq and its higher interests,” he said shortly afterwards. On his personal Twitter account, the former candidate noted that there were “internal and external reasons” that had led him to make that determination. This phrase has been interpreted as a harsh criticism of the policy of blockade implemented by the Shiites, already denounced at the time by Allaoui.

Following Al-Zurfi's resignation, President Saleh has been forced to hand over the task to someone else, the third person who will try to take over the reins of Iraqi political life in less than half a year. It’s Mustafa al-Kazemi, who, until now, has been the director of the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS).

Because of the position he has held, al-Kazemi is quite familiar with the intricacies of Iraq's complex political landscape, which is often based on ethnic-religious loyalties and pacts underhand. His figure is seen as a rather technical profile, someone who has managed to be apolitical in the midst of a sea of sectarianism and who, in theory, could gain the trust of both Sunnis and Shias.

However, a similar impression was held of Al-Zurfi, his predecessor, and the result has been far from satisfactory. Al-Kazemi will have to fight very hard if he is to obtain the necessary support to form a stable and lasting cabinet. He has a period of thirty days before the vote in Parliament. In principle, he has the backing of the Coalition of Iraqi Forces, the largest bloc in the Sunni wing, and some Shiite parties, such as Fatah and former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State and Law conglomerate, according to the Middle East Eye newspaper. 

It should be remembered that, at present, the person who is still in charge of the Executive is, in theory, Mahdi. Although he resigned last year, the inability of his successors to settle in the post of Prime Minister has meant that he must continue to serve as acting Prime Minister.

This power vacuum is not the only problem of political instability in Iraq. It is precisely the lack of leadership in Baghdad that has caused the activity of a myriad of armed groups to increase considerably over the past few months in different areas of the territory.

On the one hand, Daesh's threat remains very real. Despite the fact that much of his infrastructure was destroyed, he maintains combat units with the capacity to commit terrorist attacks. In addition, the Iraqi lack of control is allowing the terrorist organization to regain a part of its lost territorial base, as well as its capacity to recruit and transmit propaganda.

On the other hand, various Shiite militias, such as Kata'ib Hizbullah, associated with the Lebanese group of the same name, or the People's Mobilization Forces (PMF), in direct connection with the regime in Tehran, are campaigning at will and continue to gain influence in Iraq's geography.

In the background, the economic and social crisis in which the country is immersed continues to take its toll on the population. Citizens' protests - which, in fact, led to Mahdi's resignation - are not stopping. Indeed, they are being fuelled by prominent voices in the public sphere, such as the influential Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, one of the most prominent figures in Iraq's Shiite religious hierarchy. 

No matter how much the Shiite clergy try to profit from these circumstances, the truth is that rejection of the political class is widespread among large sections of the population, especially among the youth. Many of them have already returned to the streets with banners on which the face of the newly nominated Al-Kazemi is crossed out.