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Political crisis likely to deepen if Maliki cuts ministries
26/06/2011 14:49
Erbil, June 26 (AKnews) – The expected reduction in the size of the unwieldy Iraqi cabinet will create “another political crisis” which will “stir political parties’ relations further”, said Muayyad Tayyeb, spokesman for Kurdistan Blocs Coalition (KBC) today.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced on Thursday that he will eliminate some of the 42 ministries and replace “ineffective” ministers.
Tayyeb said the KBC backs the reform project but that “should not be at the expense of electoral gains of the KBC.
“Only if the changes are by consensus and they do not violate the power balance between the parties, will we support Maliki’s plans.”
Hachem Hasani, spokesman for the prime minister’s State of Law Coalition (SLC) said: “There are more inactive ministries than active ones; no one should get in the way of the PM’s plan to abolish them.”
He said that even at the time of formation of the cabinet all parties agreed that there were too many ministries and that some would have to be culled.
But any sackings or closure of ministries is likely to prove controversial among the parties currently holding them. The government is already walking a fine line between survival and collapse, and the parties currently propping up the coalition may not be inclined to continue doing so if their positions in the cabinet are stripped away.
Zuheir al-‘Araji, a member of the opposition al-Iraqiya bloc, said he backed the idea of removing ‘ignorant’ ministers but not ‘reducing the number of ministries because that will destroy the political consensus harmony’.
However, Baha al-‘Araji, the head of Ahrar Bloc - an ally of SLC - backed Maliki’s plan, saying there should only be between 20-23 ministries.
‘Even if the cut back affects our ministers we are ready to give up the posts,’ he said, adding parties should put aside their interests because “the reduction means a reduction in the financial losses of the country.’
After widespread protest calling for reform in February Maliki gave his ministers 100 days to shape up or ship out. That deadline passed recently and the prime minister has said that he will sack ineffective ministers and dock the number of ministries. But he has missed several self-declared announcement dates, possibly because of fears about the political fallout of any cuts.
The current “unity government” was formed in December last year after months of wrangling. Maliki was allowed to hold on to power, despite winning fewer seats than al-Iraqiya, after promising to make concessions. However, the government has been plagued by crises and boycotts.
The appointment of heads of the three security ministries has been a particularly troublesome sticking point, with each party’s nominations being rejected by the others. The failure to reach agreement on this issue does not bode well for the likelihood of trouble-free cuts to the ministries.
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26/06/2011 14:49
Erbil, June 26 (AKnews) – The expected reduction in the size of the unwieldy Iraqi cabinet will create “another political crisis” which will “stir political parties’ relations further”, said Muayyad Tayyeb, spokesman for Kurdistan Blocs Coalition (KBC) today.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced on Thursday that he will eliminate some of the 42 ministries and replace “ineffective” ministers.
Tayyeb said the KBC backs the reform project but that “should not be at the expense of electoral gains of the KBC.
“Only if the changes are by consensus and they do not violate the power balance between the parties, will we support Maliki’s plans.”
Hachem Hasani, spokesman for the prime minister’s State of Law Coalition (SLC) said: “There are more inactive ministries than active ones; no one should get in the way of the PM’s plan to abolish them.”
He said that even at the time of formation of the cabinet all parties agreed that there were too many ministries and that some would have to be culled.
But any sackings or closure of ministries is likely to prove controversial among the parties currently holding them. The government is already walking a fine line between survival and collapse, and the parties currently propping up the coalition may not be inclined to continue doing so if their positions in the cabinet are stripped away.
Zuheir al-‘Araji, a member of the opposition al-Iraqiya bloc, said he backed the idea of removing ‘ignorant’ ministers but not ‘reducing the number of ministries because that will destroy the political consensus harmony’.
However, Baha al-‘Araji, the head of Ahrar Bloc - an ally of SLC - backed Maliki’s plan, saying there should only be between 20-23 ministries.
‘Even if the cut back affects our ministers we are ready to give up the posts,’ he said, adding parties should put aside their interests because “the reduction means a reduction in the financial losses of the country.’
After widespread protest calling for reform in February Maliki gave his ministers 100 days to shape up or ship out. That deadline passed recently and the prime minister has said that he will sack ineffective ministers and dock the number of ministries. But he has missed several self-declared announcement dates, possibly because of fears about the political fallout of any cuts.
The current “unity government” was formed in December last year after months of wrangling. Maliki was allowed to hold on to power, despite winning fewer seats than al-Iraqiya, after promising to make concessions. However, the government has been plagued by crises and boycotts.
The appointment of heads of the three security ministries has been a particularly troublesome sticking point, with each party’s nominations being rejected by the others. The failure to reach agreement on this issue does not bode well for the likelihood of trouble-free cuts to the ministries.
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