Iraqis Already Frustrated with Government

In the new prime minister's home province, people will await results before judging the government a success.

In the new Iraqi prime minister's home province of Karbala, people say they are unhappy that ministers in the new cabinet have been appointed because of their sect or ethnicity rather than their qualifications.

The announcement that the 37-member cabinet had finally been formed was met with less than full-on enthusiasm in Karbala, even though this central province is home to both Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his predecessor Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

As in much of Iraq, the mix of rising violence and a dwindling economy in Karbala has left people disgruntled with their government, and the new cabinet will have to prove itself before it gains their trust.

The division of ministerial posts was hammered out by allocating most positions to political slates, not individual leaders. The blocs, most of which represent one or another ethnic or sectarian group, each nominated members for ministerial posts.

Like many of the political analysts interviewed by IWPR, Karbala residents did not appear greatly concerned about which party was going to get which particular post - the issue which caused so much bickering between the various political groups and resulted in an agonising five-month gap between the parliamentary election and the formation of a cabinet.

But people told IWPR they viewed the new cabinet with scepticism because of the horse-trading involved in its creation – and not least because the most controversial posts, relating to the security sector, were still unfilled when it was announced at the weekend.

"It's a government of interests and parties," said Ahmed Jaafar al-Zubaidi, a political analyst at al-Mustaqbal research centre in Baghdad.

The Islamic Fadhila party dropped out of the negotiations, publicly scolding politicians for looking after their own instead of pursuing the goal of a united government. But according to Walid Khalid al-Abudi, a political analyst at Baghdad university, the party would probably have abandoned this principle and stayed in the talks, if only its demand for the coveted oil ministry post had been met.

One of the biggest arguments delaying the announcement of a cabinet was how the powerful interior and defence ministries should be divided among Sunni Arab, Shia and Kurdish political factions. The debate took place as Iraq's security situation continued to deteriorate and various factions battled one another on the streets.

Bayan Jabr, a former anti-Saddam activist who held the post of interior minister in the outgoing government, was widely criticised after his ministry secretly detained and tortured Sunni Arabs. In the new cabinet he has been shifted from the interior ministry, but instead of being ousted altogether, he has been given the important job of finance minister.

Prime Minister Maliki and his Sunni Arab deputy prime minister Salam Zaubai are to take temporary charge of internal affairs and defence, respectively, while another deputy premier, Barhem Saleh, a Kurd, will serve as acting national security minister.

Maliki has said he will permanently fill these posts with independent candidates in the course of the next week.

Abu Hajar al-Karbalai, a professor at al-Hawza university in Karbala, said the fact that the government was unable to appoint ministers to these security-sector posts was ironic since Maliki has pledged first and foremost to fight terrorism.

"It's a sign of a weak government that will not be able to lead the country for four years," said Mohammed Amin, a university student in Baghdad.

There are now conflicting reports as to whether culture minister-designate Assad Kamal Muhammed al-Hashimi will actually take up his post. Hashimi's Iraqi Accord Front was awarded the position just two hours before the cabinet was announced, and reliable sources say party leaders hurriedly put Hashimi up for the job without consulting him.

Karbala residents echoed the sentiments of Iraqis across the country, saying all they want is a competent government that serves its citizens rather than partisan interests.

Jobs are so scarce and money so tight in Karbala that young people are leaving university to work as a labourers and street vendors.

Residents say that having a Karbala man as prime minister will not help matters, recalling that when Jaafari was in power, the security situation got worse and electricity, health and other services deteriorated.

Manar Hussein, a student at Ahil al-Bayt university, believes the incoming government will need to come up with "a real plan, not just one on paper".

"They need to be able to control security and do away with unemployment," he said.

Emad al-Shara' is a Baghdad-based IWPR trainee journalist.