The British Economist magazine said that the new interim administration in Libya, which was the fruit of the fourth United Nations attempt to bring a unified Libyan government since the February 17, 2011 revolution into existence, will face "new old problems", most notably external interference.
The newspaper considered - in its report - that the warlords and foreign parties will all try to thwart the efforts of the new government emanating from the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Geneva.
The forum, which was held under the auspices of the United Nations, produced on the fifth of this month an interim government through the voting mechanism, according to which Muhammad Al-Manfi was chosen as Chairman of the Presidential Council and Abdel Hamid Dabaiba as Prime Minister, after their list - which also includes members of the Council, Musa Al-Koni and Abdullah Hussein Al-Lafi With 39 votes out of 73, compared to 34 votes for their competitors, the Speaker of the East Parliament, Aguila Saleh, and the Minister of the Interior residing in the West, Fathi Bashagha, for the position of Prime Minister.
The new interim government will carry out - according to the magazine - basic tasks, most notably the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections on December 24 next, as well as the attempt to open the Benghazi-Tripoli coastal road closed by the conflicting parties (the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar and the Government of National Accord and their allies). Sirte city center level.
Signs of hope
The Economist believes that the new interim leadership will try hard to persuade the warlords to give up their weapons, and it will likely find it difficult to bring the Libyans in the east of the country to its ranks because many of them do not trust the new prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dabaiba, because he hails from the western city of Misurata.
In this context, the Prime Minister of the Eastern Region, Abdullah al-Thani, announced after the end of the Political Dialogue Forum in Geneva that he is awaiting the instructions of the old parliament, which is located in Tobruk.
The magazine stresses that despite indications that foreign powers probably do not want the new Libyan administration to succeed, there are signs of hope during the past six months, as a ceasefire agreement signed in October 2020 held largely under UN auspices and prisoners were exchanged.
Last September, retired Major General Khalifa Haftar lifted the blockade imposed on oil exports, the main source of income for the country, and the Tobruk government allied with him and the internationally recognized Government of National Accord agreed on a unified exchange rate for the Libyan dinar, and flights were resumed between East and West, and countries began in Reopening its embassies again in the capital, Tripoli.
Political path
Although foreign powers, according to the magazine, revel in the political path to end the conflict, they ignored the deadline set by the United Nations for the withdrawal of foreign forces and combat elements from the country by January 23, and their interventions will not make the responsibility of the new government easy.
On the one hand, Turkey - which has signed a security agreement and for oil and gas exploration off the Libyan coast with Greece - is seeking with the Government of National Accord in 2019 to maintain its influence in Libya.
As for Russia, the main supporter of Haftar, along with France, Egypt and the UAE, it wants to keep its ability to access air bases and ports located in a strategic area close to the sphere of influence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Shortly after the vote on the new government, it sent more mercenaries to Libya, and continues to assist retired Major General Khalifa Haftar in digging the Libyan "Maginot Line", a fortified trench that extends from the city of Sirte to the Jufra region in the depth of the Libyan desert.