Alwaght- The lengthened debate on the formation of a new Iraqi government following the May parliamentary election appears to near its end as the political parties reach an initial agreement on Adel Abdul Mahdi, the experienced technocratic Shiite politician, to fill the prime minister post. Now, more than any other time after the election, the country heads towards an end to the political fervor.
Who is Adel Abdul Mahdi?
Adel Abdul Mahdi, 76, is one of the most important figures in the contemporary Iraqi politics. He filled major posts since fall of Saddam Hussain in 2003 and rise of new Iraq, mainly known as a technocratic politician with moderate tendencies.
Abdul Mahdi graduated from the University of Baghdad in 1963 in economics. Then he continued his education in France. In 1972, he got a Ph.D. degree in political economics from the French University of Poitiers.
Since the 1980s, he joined the Shiite struggle against the Saddam dictatorship, majorly affected by the Islamic Revolution of Iran that brought down Shah of Iran and installed the Islamic Republic. At the time, he, along with some key Shiite figures like Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim founded the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.
He returned to Iraq after Saddam collapse. He was one of the influential writers of the draft constitution for post-Saddam Iraq. Abdul Mahdi also served as economy minister under Prime Minister Ayad Alawi, the first PM of new Iraq. He also was a member of the Iraqi delegation that talked to the US and other foreign countries to cancel the Iraqi debt. He managed to persuade some of the international creditors to cancel a major part of Iraq’s foreign debts.
Abdul Mahdi also was a hopeful for the premier post in 2005 but lost to Nouri Al-Maliki with a narrow margin in a vote inside the National Iraqi Alliance. He served as an aide to the president of Iraq in 2005, holding the position up to 2011, the year he resigned. The last major post he filled was the minister of oil under the outgoing PM Haider al-Abadi. He served in the post for two years before resigning in 2016. He is the only Iraqi politician to resign from two significant posts. In 2016, he separated from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.
Abdul Mahdi premiership and the promise of better days for Iraq
Iraq is a country that has been facing crippling problems and crises over the past two decades. While the nation was just recovering from the damages of the US-led invasion and occupation, another tragedy as a result of a Western-Arab conspiracy hit it– the rise of ISIS terrorist group and the ensuing costly war. Shortly after ISIS was neutralized in the country as a result of the heavily costly campaign, a new sedition hit the country– the autonomous Kurdish region held secession referendum on September 25, 2017, to split the country already exhausted by war.
Despite the fact that each of these crises failed to meet the goals of their, majorly foreign, conspirators, they badly marred the central government’s ability to get the economic situation right, improve the living conditions of the Iraqis, fight corruption, and force out the foreign forces. These failures stirred protests which rose against the inefficiency of the government organs to get things right.
In the middle of hard times, real and tangible change in the political structure to allow the independent, technocratic, and experienced figures to fill the key posts became a popular demand which showed itself both on May 12 parliamentary polls and also the recent angry Basra demonstrations. The popular demands beside a recent statement by the Shiite Marja Ayatollah Sayyed Ali al-Sistani calling for allowing untested politicians to rule the country in the new government prompted an agreement between the victors of the election, Sadr-led Saerun and Amiri-led Fatah allainces, on filling the gaps by a green light to Adel Abdul Mahdi.
By looking at Abdul Mahdi’s track record, we can predict that he is a choice that suits best the country’s conditions. First, he is an experienced man in administrative work with a record of significant posts in the past. His record marks him as a figure familiar with the administration and management in the county at the highest levels.
Iraq now appears to see potentials in him to take the nation to the economic and political reform for an improvement of economic situation and boost of the business atmosphere.
An interesting point about his personality is his independence. That various parties have reached a consensus to welcome him to the post in the present conditions signals his independent personality. The country’s politics are in an urgent need of such a figure in the current circumstances. Moreover, although he was an influential member of the Supreme Council, he acted very independently while in the posts, never involved in party games. Resignation from oil ministry and president aide post were because of his rejection to yield to pressures to affect his decisions.
Abdul Mahdi carries the experience of work with all of the former governments. This can have a share in forming an inclusive cabinet encompassing all of the efficient politicians.
In the relations with the foreign actors, he has effectively created a balance in the ties with regional and international players. While insisting that the foreign forces, specifically the Americans, should leave the country, he seeks friendly relations with Washington based on common interests. He at the same time supports the Shiite clerics, Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), national unity, and Iraq’s effective role in the Iran-led Axis of Resistance. He is an advocate of a strategic relationship between Tehran and Baghdad and an opponent to the anti-Iranian scenarios by regional and international actors. This approach promises close work between the two neighbors under Abdul Mahdi.
