Opinion: Delayed Ministerial Appointments

Al-Mashriq is published daily by Al-Mashriq Institution for Media and Cultural Investments.

Friday, 9 June, 2006

IWPR

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Opinion: Delayed Ministerial Appointments

Al-Mashriq is published daily by Al-Mashriq Institution for Media and Cultural Investments.

Iraqi government officials have appeared on satellite TV channels to talk about the reasons for the delay in assigning the posts of defence and interior minister. They said that person nominated to fill the defence post was rejected by a political bloc that was hoping to win the post. The mutual rejection of each other’s candidates reflects a superficial understanding of democracy, which risks leading to an irremediable situation. The core of democracy, as understood by truly democratic nations, is to accept the opinions of others even though they differ from our own. Democracy needs to embrace a diversity of ideas, otherwise it is pointless even discussing it. If we have more examples like those who went on TV to justify the procrastination, we will be presenting a poor image of how democracy should be. We hope that this poor model of democracy will not overwhelm our country, as that could lead to catastrophe.

Project Focus Iraqi Press Monitor

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