Expert says Muqtada Sadr will eventually compromise

Iraqi Sadris Movement Leader, Muqtada Sadr, will eventually be forced to compromise over its plans to form the next government of the country, Joel Wing, an Iraq affairs' expert told Kurdpress about the current political stalemate in Iraq and al-Sadr's insistence on forming a majority government.

About six months have passed since Iraq's parliamentary elections, but neither the president nor the prime minister have been appointed by lawmakers. The reason behind the situation is the disagreement of the Iraqi political movements on how to form a government and elect the president. The Sadr-Barzani-Halbousi coalition believes in forming a majority government, but groups such as Coordination Fremework, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and several other Kurdish parties in Iraq are pushing for a national and inclusive government.

Is the Sadr-Barzani-Halbousi coalition a good option for forming the new Iraqi government?

Over Sadr's instance on forming a majority government, Mr. Wing stated "Sadr's trying to fulfill his longtime dream of becoming the ultimate kingmaker in Iraq. He's played a crucial role in creating previous governments but now he's in control. He likes portraying himself as an Iraqi nationalist and reformer but it's just all about power. That makes his coalition no different from others who have put together regimes."

Iraq federal court's plans for Kurdistan oil activities

About a recent Iraq Federal Court decision that called Kurdistan Region's oil activities as illegal, the expert told Kurdpress that "It is a blow to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and its ability to attract new investors to its energy market. Kurdistan however doesn't believe Baghdad can enforce the ruling and bring Kurdish oil deals under central government control. It wants to delay under the belief that it can make a deal with Baghdad."

The factor behind defeated attempts to form a new government

"The Coordination Framework has become what it calls the "blocking third". The Federal Supreme Court ruled that 2/3 of parliamentarians must be present to elect a new president. The Framework has been able to collect together just over 1/3 of MPs to block any move by Sadr," Wing said about the question that which bloc is at wrong over the stalemate in forming the next Iraqi government.

About the Coordination Framework's plans in disagreeing with the formation of a majority government, he stated "the Framework wants another national unity government that will include all of its components and is opposed to Sadr's vision of a majority regime that would exclude two of his longtime rivals former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Asaeb Ahl Al-Haq who are part of the Framework. The division between those two forces is what is holding up forming a new government."

A solution for the current situation

About what is the solution for the current political stalemate, the expert told Kurdpress that "Sadr still believes that he can wait out the Coordination Framework and get 2/3 of MPs to show up to parliament to continue making the new government. That's unlikely so Sadr will eventually have to compromise. The differences between the two however means this will take a long time."

Reporter's code: 50101

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