Iraq is in search for a new prime minister after Adel Abdul Mahdi’s resignation became official on December 1. Although it seems that nobody wants to fill his vacant position. Moqtada al-Sadr, the leader of Iraq’s largest parliamentary bloc, stated that he does not want to nominate a candidate. The establishment figures which were mused as possible successors since Mahdi stepped down have been quickly dismissed by the public.
Finding a strong prime minister after the US led removal of Saddam Hussein in 2003 has proven to be very difficult. After elections in 2018 it took six months and endorsement from both the US and Iran to select Mahdi, and experts say this time it might even be harder to find a candidate. “I don’t see anyone in his right mind would want to be prime minister in Iraq for the next few months,” stated Abbas Kadhim, director of the Atlantic Council’s Iraq Initiative.
Any new prime minister will have to deal with the anti government protest movement, which is calling for an entirely new vision of Iraq. A political advisor to Sadr explained that their party Sairoon is not choosing a candidate because they “believe that the political parties are still insisting on choosing the prime minister themselves, which is in contrast to what people are calling for”. While the US and Tehran have battled for influence in Iraq for years it seems that Iran now has a greater say over who will come to power in Iraq. It could be a long time before we see anybody step forward that the public will actually endorse.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2019/12/01/783960949/iraqi-parliament-accepts-pm-adel-abdul-mahdi-resignation-but-protesters-demand-m
https://www.ft.com/content/384e36ca-1694-11ea-8d73-6303645ac406