Seyed Reza Ghazvini Ghorabi in an interview with the site of Strategic Council on Foreign Relations pointed out to the last remarks made by Seyed Muqtada Sadr in Iraq’s Friday mass prayer sermons and spelled out:” Those who know Mr. Sadr are well aware that neither his positions in sermons of the last Friday mass prayer are unprecedented nor congregations such as Friday mass prayers are called as integrated.
The researcher of Iraq’s issues stated that the recent Friday mass prayer of Sadris should also be analyzed within the framework of their political movements of recent weeks and months. He said:” It was obvious that following the resignation of members of Sadr Parliamentary fraction, the movement is not supposed to let their Shi’ite rival to easily take the control in their absence. Their objective is to exert maximum pressure on coordinated Shi’ite fraction in order to show them as unsuccessful and incapable”.
Ghazvini stressed:” a review on the nature of Sadr shows that they are not willing to stay away from governance scene at all, and if they feel they have been omitted from the scene and or there was an agreement against them, they would try to change the whole game; they are capable and powerful players in this respect. Therefore, at present situation, one can not foresee a bright and promising horizon for political developments of Iraq”.
Sadrists Political Agenda
Having reminded that the resignation of Sadrists from Parliament does not mean their departure from political and governance trend, he explained:” parliament is a part of political and governance trend in Iraq. A considerable part of public offices high places still remains at the disposal of the group. Sadr’s men are present at ministries, foundations, state and public offices as well as independent higher institutions. If Sadr was truly looking for leaving political trend, he should have made all his directors resign simultaneously”.
According to the researcher of Iraq’s issues, it seems that after several months of turbulent relations between Sadr and his allies as well as his Shi’ite rivals in Coordination Framework he could not achieve a desired result to form a cabinet, he left the ball in rival’s court to show that with disputes among them, they are unable to manage the situation and achieve a result. Undoubtedly, Sadrists did not remain still and they will take whatever action to drive a wedge among them at Coordination Framework or to show them unable to introduce Prime Minister and thus to form the government.
He continued:” it is not bad for Sadr to continue the present trend. While the rival fraction is busy with an endless challenge of introducing prime minister and members of the cabinet, Sadr agents are present in various public and state sectors, and in view of the adoption of food security bill with a budget of $ 17 billion, Sadri senior managers do not have any problem in exploiting it”.
Difficult Situation for Shi’ite Coordination Framework
Having referred to political developments inside Shi’ite movements such as withdrawal of Nouri Al-Maliki and Hadi Al-Ameri from candidacy for Premier post, Ghazvini defined the working conditions of Shi’ite Coordination framework as very difficult and said:” This is not as easy for rival Shi’ite groups as to introduce prime minister after the resignation of Sadri MPs and to form a government. They do not have the whole ground under their control to play the game. One of their concerns is to face the objection of Sadr when with their proposed prime minister. This very point will further limit their options”.
He added:” there are also a kind of polyphony inside the Coordination Framework. A part of that believe in selecting a prime minister amid well-known persons, another part believes it is better if a feature of second rank is selected because of the reactions that may arise after selecting a well – known and seasoned feature”.
The expert of Iraq issues referred to a series of leaked audio recording files attributed to Nouri Al-Maliki and noted:” the audio recordings have made such hues and cries in political and media atmosphere of Iraq that some have called them as Maliki-leaks. The audio recordings whose authenticity have not been confirmed yet, led the ambiance to the direction in which the presence of Al-Maliki for another term as Prime Minister was almost impossible. Until now, the Shi’ite rivals of Sadr share a view that Prime Minister option should be a feature from the second rank. Yet, issues like unsettled disputes of Kurds on nominating a candidate for presidency, internal disputes of Coordination Framework or slow pace to reach an agreement are all challenges ahead”.
Having referred to some popular dissatisfactions on present political impasse in Iraq, and having stressed that it is very important that with precise recognition of political situations as well as public demands, Shi’ite groups at this stage should take steps and make their choice, Ghazvini added:” it is a positive development when these groups have come to conclude that a new feature should be introduced for Premiership. However, I believe if they were not in such a deadlock, it was unlikely to take such an action, but still this is not sufficient”.
He said:” at first stage, instead of focusing too much on names, required characteristics for Prime Minister should be outlined. Characteristics that on the top of encouraging people and restoring the lost trust of society, should be a non-challenging personality inside and outside of the country, and should enjoy having necessary authority to interact with political groups and movements as well as to confront with Iraq’s constant challenges. Meanwhile, Sadr Movement and their resignation by itself, will be a difficult challenge for the new Prime Minister and his capability to leave behind the difficult situation will also be considered as an benchmark for his other capabilities”.