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In the new prime minister's
home province, people will await results before
judging the government a success.
In the new Iraqi prime minister's home province of
Karbala, people say they are unhappy that ministers
in the new cabinet have been appointed because of
their sect or ethnicity rather than their
qualifications.
The announcement that the 37-member cabinet had
finally been formed was met with less than full-on
enthusiasm in Karbala, even though this central
province is home to both Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
and his predecessor Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
As in much of Iraq, the mix of rising violence and a
dwindling economy in Karbala has left people
disgruntled with their government, and the new
cabinet will have to prove itself before it gains
their trust.
The division of ministerial posts was hammered out
by allocating most positions to political slates,
not individual leaders. The blocs, most of which
represent one or another ethnic or sectarian group,
each nominated members for ministerial posts.
Like many of the political analysts interviewed by
IWPR, Karbala residents did not appear greatly
concerned about which party was going to get which
particular post - the issue which caused so much
bickering between the various political groups and
resulted in an agonising five-month gap between the
parliamentary election and the formation of a
cabinet.
But people told IWPR they viewed the new cabinet
with scepticism because of the horse-trading
involved in its creation – and not least because the
most controversial posts, relating to the security
sector, were still unfilled when it was announced at
the weekend.
"It's a government of interests and parties," said
Ahmed Jaafar al-Zubaidi, a political analyst at al-Mustaqbal
research centre in Baghdad.
The Islamic Fadhila party dropped out of the
negotiations, publicly scolding politicians for
looking after their own instead of pursuing the goal
of a united government. But according to Walid
Khalid al-Abudi, a political analyst at Baghdad
university, the party would probably have abandoned
this principle and stayed in the talks, if only its
demand for the coveted oil ministry post had been
met.
One of the biggest arguments delaying the
announcement of a cabinet was how the powerful
interior and defence ministries should be divided
among Sunni Arab, Shia and Kurdish political
factions. The debate took place as Iraq's security
situation continued to deteriorate and various
factions battled one another on the streets.
Bayan Jabr, a former anti-Saddam activist who held
the post of interior minister in the outgoing
government, was widely criticised after his ministry
secretly detained and tortured Sunni Arabs. In the
new cabinet he has been shifted from the interior
ministry, but instead of being ousted altogether, he
has been given the important job of finance
minister.
Prime Minister Maliki and his Sunni Arab deputy
prime minister Salam Zaubai are to take temporary
charge of internal affairs and defence,
respectively, while another deputy premier, Barhem
Saleh, a Kurd, will serve as acting national
security minister.
Maliki has said he will permanently fill these posts
with independent candidates in the course of the
next week.
Abu Hajar al-Karbalai, a professor at al-Hawza
university in Karbala, said the fact that the
government was unable to appoint ministers to these
security-sector posts was ironic since Maliki has
pledged first and foremost to fight terrorism.
"It's a sign of a weak government that will not be
able to lead the country for four years," said
Mohammed Amin, a university student in Baghdad.
There are now conflicting reports as to whether
culture minister-designate Assad Kamal Muhammed al-Hashimi
will actually take up his post. Hashimi's Iraqi
Accord Front was awarded the position just two hours
before the cabinet was announced, and reliable
sources say party leaders hurriedly put Hashimi up
for the job without consulting him.
Karbala residents echoed the sentiments of Iraqis
across the country, saying all they want is a
competent government that serves its citizens rather
than partisan interests.
Jobs are so scarce and money so tight in Karbala
that young people are leaving university to work as
a labourers and street vendors.
Residents say that having a Karbala man as prime
minister will not help matters, recalling that when
Jaafari was in power, the security situation got
worse and electricity, health and other services
deteriorated.
Manar Hussein, a student at Ahil al-Bayt university,
believes the incoming government will need to come
up with "a real plan, not just one on paper".
"They need to be able to control security and do
away with unemployment," he said.
Emad al-Shara' is a Baghdad-based IWPR trainee
journalist.
Iwpr net
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