BAGHDAD (National Times) – Iraq s new prime minister-designate Mohammed Shia al-Sudani hails from the Shiite Muslim political class that has been in power for almost two decades.<\/p>\n
But, on top of the challenge of forming a government for the crisis-hit country, he must now win the backing of fiercely rival Shiite factions.<\/p>\n
More than a year after general elections left Iraq in political paralysis, 52-year-old Sudani was nominated as prime minister by new President Abdul Latif Rashid, to succeed Mustafa al-Kadhemi, in power since 2020.<\/p>\n
Sudani, an influential former lawmaker, governor and minister, has the backing of the influential pro-Iran factions of the Coordination Framework.<\/p>\n
But he will face a major task ahead to earn the support of their rivals, the millions of diehard supporters of fiery cleric Moqtada Sadr.<\/p>\n
Sudani, born in 1970, was just a nine-year-old boy when his father was executed for his opposition to Saddam Hussein.<\/p>\n
After the US-led invasion in 2003, Sudani rose to prominence within the Shiite political leadership.<\/p>\n
With a degree in agricultural science, he moved through the ranks of the civil service, becoming governor of Maysan, the oil-rich province bordering Iran.<\/p>\n
In 2010, he launched his political career in the capital Baghdad, rising within the government of prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, becoming the minister of human rights, then social affairs, and then of industry.<\/p>\n
“ESTABLISHED POLITICAL ELITE”<\/p>\n
Today, it is with the key backing of Maliki and the pro-Tehran Coordination Framework that Sudani must forge a government.<\/p>\n
Dressed in dark business suits, and sporting a bushy moustache with neatly close-cropped hair, the father-of-five set out on the campaign trail after the Coordination Framework put forward his name as candidate in July.<\/p>\n
As he sought to win over opposition lawmakers, he has presented – as his predecessors did – ambitious programmes promising to tackle endemic corruption and rebuild crumbling infrastructure left in ruins by years of war.<\/p>\n
When his name was floated in 2019 as a potential candidate for the premiership amid mass anti-government street protests denouncing the political elite, Sudani made little headway.<\/p>\n
“He doesn t have a bad history, and there is no huge corruption accusations against him,” said Sajad Jiyad, a researcher at the think tank Century International.<\/p>\n
“But the fact that he is not known as a significant reformer, the fact that he is part of the established political elite, doesn t give confidence that he could be any different from them.”<\/p>\n
When he was named in July by the pro-Tehran Coordination Framework, furious Sadr supporters breached the Green Zone and stormed parliament in protest.<\/p>\n
For Sadr, Sudani is seen as being “close” to his longtime foe Maliki, said Jiyad.<\/p>\n
“For Sadrists, that is a problem,” he added. “They believe he (Sudani) is out to defeat the Sadrists politically … that if he gets the chance, he will crush the Sadrists.”<\/p>\n
“POTENTIAL POPULARITY”<\/p>\n
Sudani, having cut his teeth in the State of Law party of Maliki, founded his own party in 2021, Al-Furatain, with a total of three lawmakers in parliament.<\/p>\n
“He s a statesman,” said Bashar al-Saidi, the deputy secretary-general of his party. “He masters ministerial work… and knows how to manage political and administrative affairs.”<\/p>\n
Among his priorities will be to “pass a budget”, “reduce poverty and unemployment”, and restore public services including health and electricity, said Saidi.<\/p>\n
Also on his to-do list will be organising fresh elections.<\/p>\n
Sudani, potentially to head off demands already made by Sadr for early elections, has said that a new vote should be held “within a year and a half”. He has called the Sadrists a “great popular and patriotic” movement.<\/p>\n
Hamzeh Hadad, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, spoke of his “potential popularity” with the public.<\/p>\n
“He already has good relations with political parties across the spectrum, which is why initial calls against his candidacy were not particularly personal, but the circumstance of being the Coordination Framework s nominee,” Hadad said.<\/p>\n
Like Kadhemi, his predecessor as premier, Sudani represents “the next generation of Iraqi politicians” who came to power after the toppling to Saddam.<\/p>\n
And, as premier with the backing of the Coordination Framework s nominee, he will “be more empowered in office” than his two predecessors, viewed by some as “compromise candidates”, Hadad added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BAGHDAD (National Times) – Iraq s new prime minister-designate Mohammed Shia al-Sudani hails from the Shiite Muslim political class that has been in power for almost two decades. But, on top of the challenge of forming a government for the crisis-hit country, he must now win the backing of fiercely rival Shiite factions. More than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-showbiz","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n