Deep differences draw the scenario of Al-Kazemi’s extension…
Baghdad/The Obelisk: According to a report by Foreign Policy magazine, Thursday, October 14, 2021, the results of the Iraqi elections highlighted a class of independent candidates who won seats in parliament through the direct vote of Iraqis, according to what was achieved through the electoral law reforms.
The extension movement led by Alaa Al-Rikabi, a pharmacist who gained fame during the October 2019 protests, won 10 seats.
The independent parliamentary group will have to decide whether to join the ruling coalition – and risk spoiling the political process or remain pure but powerless as part of the opposition.
The magazine asks: Shouldn’t al-Sadr and his future parliamentary allies look for a new prime minister that they agree on? The consensual candidate may be the current Mustafa al-Kazimi, who has a good relationship with al-Sadr, al-Halbousi and the Kurds. If coalition talks stop and continue for months, this will be the likely scenario.
And the circulation is repeated about a political agreement between Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi and the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada Al-Sadr, to rename the first as head of the next government for a second term, in coordination with Sunni and Kurdish political forces and parties.
Political forces are betting on Al-Kazemi as the safest option in order to control the street and prevent the outbreak of new protests, especially in light of the emergence of indications that the anti-corruption campaign will move forward in overthrowing corrupt people belonging to the first echelon of the political class.
Observers believe that al-Sadr has changed his position from his desire for the next prime minister to be a Sadrist to supporting Al-Kazemi to run for a second term, as this is considered a kind of practical understanding of reality.