BAGHDAD – Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi held his first cabinet meeting with his partial council of ministers in their new home, outside the fortified Green Zone in the former parliament complex of Saddam Hussein, on Thursday. The shouting match that erupted in the parliament during a session to vote on his cabinet nominees, however, revealed the deep sectarian divisions that dominate the legislature and will be a challenge for him to overcome. Members of the parliament from several Shiite and Sunni blocs walked out of the chamber in protest over some of the names proposed to head up ministries. Key posts of defense, the interior, and justice are still not filled. Abdul-Mahdi’s nominee for the Interior Ministry, Falah al-Fayadh, was particularly controversial. He was removed from his post as head of the Hashd al-Shaabi by former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. “The parliamentary meeting was a plot against the Iraqi people,” said Sunni MP Ahmad Jabar in a press conference. Turkmen lawmakers complained that they had no representation in the cabinet lineup. They issued a statement demanding to know why their rights are being neglected. Qais al-Khazali, head of an Iranian-backed Shiite militia, threw his cautious support behind Abdul-Mahdi. “I think we have to give the current government the chance to try its best and we will wait a bit – not long because if good is coming, then its signs will be apparent on the horizon quickly,” he announced in a statement. He said his group will be “honest advisors” to Abdul-Mahdi and his government. No ‘viable atmosphere’ Power still rests in the hands of specific groups, leaving Abdul-Mahdi with little authority to enact the ambitious government programme he outlined to parliament on Wednesday, argued Sirwan Arab, a university professor and oil expert. "Some groups in Iraq have authority. That is why the job of the new prime minister of Iraq will be a bit difficult to manage in this short period he has,” Arab told Rudaw. Pointing to security problems, sectarian discord, and lack of trust between groups, Arab noted, “there isn't a viable atmosphere for Adil Abdul-Mahdi to implement the programme he has." The professor commended Abdul-Mahdi’s plan that focused on employment and income issues. "What can be noticed in the programme is that for the first time… attention is being given to sustainable development,” he said. Providing jobs and prosperity to the people will bring security and stability to the country, he said. If that does not happen and if the economy does not grow, “Iraq will fall apart,” he warned. "The chance given to Abdul-Mahdi is the last chance both for the Iraqi government and the Iraqi state," he said, explaining that Iraqis will no longer tolerate problems being handed down from one cabinet to the next. Arab is optimistic that relations between Erbil and Baghdad could improve under Abdul-Mahdi, saying the prime minister is “a friend of the Kurds. He has continuously taken the Kurdish side on different issues to resolve the problems." The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) should capitalize on Abdul-Mahdi’s commitment to implementing the constitution and could even increase its oil output, he argued. Two Kurdish ministerial nominees have so far been approved by the parliament – Fuad Hussein is Minister of Finance and Bangin Rekani is Minister of Housing and Reconstruction. Where are the women? All of the fourteen ministers that were approved by the parliament are men, a fact the UN representative to Iraq called disappointing. “There are excellent, well qualified and experienced females active in the political life, professional positions and civil society of Iraq who would be strong candidates for many of the ministerial roles; ignoring their potential is to miss important opportunities for Iraq,” said Jan Kubis. Two of the nominees for cabinet posts are women, but neither was voted on in the Wednesday session. In addition to the internal battles he faces, Abdul-Mahdi will have to balance key competing allies of Iran and the United States. In his first press conference as prime minister on Thursday, he said his government would not tolerate external meddling. “We want to secure Iraq from any interference in issues, affairs of other countries, whether it’s a neighbouring country or it’s any other country in the world,” he said. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Abdul-Mahdi on Thursday to offer his congratulations and affirm US support for the Iraqi government, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office. Iraq is believed to be seeking exemptions from US sanctions on Iran.
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