Sunday morning might have been Iraq’s best morning since Saddam Hussein’s regime was toppled, said the columnist Adnan Hussein in the Iraqi daily, Al Mada.
It was the day that brought Iraqis the long-awaited news that the regime installed by corrupt politicians – who had taken Iraqis’ lives back to what they were under Saddam, or even worse – had begun to disintegrate.
This is what Iraqis want, he added. In response to large popular protests in Baghdad demanding reforms, Iraq’s prime minister, Haider Al Abadi, proposed a set of wide-ranging changes that eliminate three vice-president posts as well as the office of deputy prime minister.
The proposal, aimed at reducing spending and cracking down on corruption, was unanimously approved by the Iraqi cabinet.
“Prime minister Al Abadi couldn’t have taken these bold decisions if it weren’t for the sturdy support he received from popular protests that began on July 31,” Hussein wrote.
“Evidently, he will be even stronger and steadier should he decide to recruit honest and efficient representatives from all national factions to lay out the plans to implement his decisions.
“Corruption mafias are entrenched in every aspect of the government and have numerous ways to abort the reform process.”
The popular movement was preceded by similar protests in 2011 clamouring for reforms, but the then prime minister, Nouri Al Maliki, chose to confront them with brutality.
Had Mr Al Maliki acted the way Mr Al Abadi did this week, Iraqis would have benefited from better public services today. It would also have saved tens of billions of dollars in embezzled funds and, more importantly, he would have been able to avert ISIL’s invasion of western Iraq.
Saudi columnist Tariq Al Homayed took a more sceptical view in the London-based daily Asharq Al Awsat, saying Mr Al Abadi’s move could be problematic in terms of its mechanism and timing. In addition, the objectives and intentions behind this new direction remains unclear.
“It could be seen as an attempt by Mr Al Abadi to ride the popular wave as he used the anti-corruption protests to his benefit,” he wrote.
The problems that could arise from Mr Al Abadi’s proposal have their roots in Iraq’s ever-growing sectarian crisis, especially the marginalisation of the Sunnis.
This has led to the expansion of ISIL and other terrorist groups in the country.
“There is no mechanism to ensure that the move to eliminate governmental offices will indeed lead to eliminating sectarian distribution and protecting all segments of Iraq,” the writer noted.
“Mr Al Abadi’s government, for instance, prevented the arming of Sunni tribes to enable them to fight off ISIL. And trust between Baghdad and the Kurds is all but gone.”
In reality, everything that has happened in Iraq since the fall of Saddam indicated that there was a dire lack of trust among the country’s many factions. Successive administrations in Baghdad have yet to demonstrate they are credible or serious in fighting sectarianism.
The writer asked: “Why should Iraqis believe now that the decision to eliminate the posts of deputy prime minister and vice presidents is serious and marks true political reform?
“Who is to guarantee that Mr Al Abadi won’t turn into another Al Maliki or that a chance could be given for there to be a Sunni or Kurdish prime minister in the future?”
He added that verifying Mr Al Abadi’s intentions required political dialogue and comprehensive reconciliation. Good intentions alone will not suffice, “especially when, as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions”, the writer added.
* Translated by Racha Makarem
rmakarem@thenational.ae
