The Framework for Coordination brings Iraq out of political deadlock

After a year of political deadlock following the elections that resulted in the - insufficient - victory of Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraq has managed to form a government and put an end to the political deadlock in the country. 

Mohamed Shia al-Sudani, Prime Minister proposed by the Coordination Framework, the alliance of parties close to Iran and with a majority in Parliament, was consecrated by the parliament during the voting session held on Thursday afternoon. The legislature gave the green light to al-Sudani's 21-member executive. Some of them remain in office, such as Hayan Abdul Ghani as Oil Minister, Taif Sami as Finance Minister, and Fuad Hussein as head of diplomacy. 

Along with the new president, Kurdish veteran Abdul Latif Rashid, Iraq's new government faces a series of challenges marked by difficult relations with Iran, energy poverty, a weak economy marked by unemployment and institutions blighted by corruption. 

In Iraq, three of the top state posts - speaker of parliament, president of the republic and Prime Minister - must be Sunni Muslim, Kurdish Muslim and Shia Muslim respectively. In the case of al-Sudani, the rule is fulfilled, and in particular he is part of the Shia branch closest to Iran. Al-Sudani was already Minister of Human Rights from 2010 to 2014 during the government of the previous pro-Iranian Prime Minister al-Maliki. In his youth he was prominent in the opposition to Saddam Hussein and part of his academic career was spent in Tehran. 

According to analyses in local newspapers, the choice of the Coordination Framework candidate is a consequence of former Prime Minister al-Maliki's ability to negotiate with Kurdish parties in the northern region of Iraq, who voted in favour of electing Rashid as president, the latter convinced of the need to appoint a Coordination Framework Prime Minister, thus pushing Shia cleric al-Sadr out of the race for the head of government. 

Al-Sadr relinquished power in early September when the political manoeuvring of the Coordination Framework left him with no options. A compromise could have been on the horizon when pro-Iranian coalition envoys visited Saudi Arabia in the summer to meet with Mohammed bin Salman and gain his support for a political solution in Iraq. 

In a statement, Muqtada al-Sadr announced that he would withdraw from politics, sparking serious riots in the capital Baghdad during which grenades were thrown at buildings in the so-called 'Green Zone', which houses most of the state's institutional headquarters and international delegations. Parliament was occupied for several days by al-Sadr supporters opposed to the choice of the Coordination Framework's candidate as Prime Minister.  One of the most worrying predictions at the moment is that al-Sadr will take on the role of opposition in the streets, an art in which the Shiite cleric is particularly adept thanks to his great capacity for mobilisation. 

The US, which reformed the country after its invasion and removal of Saddam Hussein in the 2000s, welcomed the appointment of the new government and said it shares the same interests in ensuring stability and security in the battered country. The State Department announced in a statement that the Iraqi government could count on the United States as a partner in carrying out the necessary reforms in Iraq. 

The United Nations also reacted to the appointment of the al-Sudani administration, urging the government to work to combat Iraq's crippling corruption problems. It was against this same corruption that Prime Minister al-Sudani devoted much of his speech in parliament, asserting that it is Iraq's worst enemy at the moment.