Far from expectations, and outside the circle of old hawks, the name of Iraq’s ambassador to Britain, Jaafar al-Sadr, emerged as a compromise candidate for prime minister, after phone calls of the leader of the Sadrist bloc Muqtada al-Sadr with political leaders, most notably the head of the “State of Law” coalition, Nuri al-Maliki, restored the water to its course. Inside what is known as the Shiite house, and renovated it after he insisted that the new government be composed of a political majority and not a consensus.
The leader al-Sadr made a series of phone calls with a number of political leaders, including the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Massoud Barzani, and Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi, as well as the head of the "Sovereignty" coalition Khamis al-Khanjar, to put forward the name of al-Sadr to head the new government after the political negotiations reached a kind of blockage. 5 months after the fifth parliamentary elections.
A previous meeting of the leaders of the coordination framework (communication sites)
Raising the veto and the largest mass
Al-Sadr’s recent contacts lifted the “veto” on Al-Maliki, and paved the way for an expanded meeting at his headquarters in Najaf, with two delegations, including Al-Halbousi and Al-Khanjar from the “Sovereignty” coalition, in addition to Hadi Al-Amiri and Faleh Al-Fayyad, from the coordination framework that includes the most prominent Shiite forces except for the Sadrist bloc, to discuss mechanisms Formation of the new government.
Al-Jazeera Net learned from informed sources that the meeting discussed putting forward several names to form the new government, but the most prominent of them is Jaafar al-Sadr, in addition to important files related to the formation of a larger parliamentary bloc that includes the framework and the Sadr bloc exclusively, as well as the structure of forming the new government and the distribution of positions.
A senior source from within the coordinating framework confirmed the actual approval of al-Sadr's nomination, a compromise candidate to form the new government, on the condition that a larger parliamentary bloc be formed first, and then go towards the ministerial formation, in order to ensure that the consensual government would guarantee the participation of al-Maliki in particular and the framework in general.
Mishaan al-Jubouri, a deputy in the Sunni "Sovereignty" coalition (consisting of the "Advance" blocs led by al-Halbousi and "Azm" led by al-Khanjar) wrote on his Twitter account, "After al-Sadr contacted al-Maliki, and what was leaked about the meeting of the leaders of the coordination framework, it became almost certain that Jaafar al-Sadr is The next prime minister.
Mr. Jaafar al-Sadr is a moderate figure and a descendant of an ancient family, and we have no reservations about his assumption of the premiership, and we will vote for him if he is named by Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr and assigns him to form the government.
- Mishaan Al-Jubouri (@mashanaljabouri) March 11, 2022
Who is Jaafar al-Sadr?
The most important thing that enhances the chances of al-Sadr, born in Najaf in 1970, to head the new government is that he is the son of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, founder of the Islamic Dawa Party and a prominent reference and thinker among Iraqi Shiites, who was executed with his sister Nour al-Huda during the era of the late President Saddam Hussein in the spring of 1980.
After the American invasion, he held many positions, most notably the permanent representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) since February 2020, and he was also appointed ambassador extraordinary to the United Kingdom since October 2019, and head of the Department of International Organizations and Conferences at the Foreign Ministry from April 2019 To October 2019, he was advisor to the President of the Republic in 2009, and won membership of the House of Representatives in the 2010 session, but later submitted his resignation in protest at what he called “the deterioration of services.”
Al-Sadr obtained a university degree in sociology and general sociology in 2011 from the Lebanese University, which also awarded him a master’s degree in sociology, specializing in epistemology in 2018, as well as religious studies in the Iranian cities of Najaf and Qom from 1995-2007.
Al-Hajj considered that the presence of Jaafar al-Sadr is a common point supported by the Sadrist bloc and the coordination framework (Al-Jazeera)
External influences
As for the extent to which al-Sadr’s candidacy came as a result of external pressures to become a settlement paper between the leaders of the Sadrist bloc and the “State of Law” coalition, political analyst Kazem al-Hajj does not deny that local political forces are clearly affected by regional and international changes, and will inevitably go towards finding common rules of action that are emanating or resulting in positions It could be the beginning of a dissolution of the complex issues between these political forces, especially the position of the Sadrist bloc on the coordination framework, specifically the rule of law.
Based on this, the presence of a candidate such as Al-Sadr will be a common point that will be supported by both parties, and it will carry great positives that may appear in the coming days - according to Al-Hajj - if things go as they are.
Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Hajj believes that the presence of a personality with historical and religious roots will be supported by Al-Sadr and Al-Maliki, and this is what helps him to be a candidate for a settlement by consensus and to move towards the beginning of the initiation line to form the government.
Several times, news circulated indicating that the agreement to nominate al-Sadr came in exchange for ensuring that al-Maliki obtained a sovereign position as if he was vice president of the republic, as happened in 2014 when the government of Haider al-Abadi was formed or another position, but al-Hajj confirms that al-Sadr's candidacy is not conditional on being parallel. Al-Maliki appointed a position in the executive authority.
Al-Badrany: It is difficult for Shiite political parties to reject the candidacy of Jaafar al-Sadr (Al-Jazeera)
Is the nomination rejected?
Professor of Political Media at the Iraqi University, Dr. Fadel Al-Badrani, stresses the difficulty of rejecting Al-Sadr's candidacy from Shiite political parties, because he comes from a religious family with a well-known heritage in the south of the country, in addition to his possession of a civic culture.
Al-Badrani’s fortunes most enhanced by al-Sadr is that he stayed away from political rivalries for several years and became permanently neutral by constantly declaring that he is not partisan and did not belong to any party, even though his family is the founder of the Dawa Party, which makes him in a balanced and acceptable position by the Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties.
And the university professor believes - speaking to Al Jazeera Net - that Al-Sadr may be the only name that can provide Shiite consensus, especially the opposing parties, especially the leaders of the Sadrist bloc and the "State of Law" coalition, and the presentation of his name can bring his name closer to the relations between them, and this is what was observed in the phone call between the two leaders.
Marei does not rule out that Jaafar al-Sadr will face difficulties in running the government if political differences persist (Al-Jazeera)
Intermarriage and government administration
Head of the Political Decision Center for Strategic Studies Hadi Jelo Marei says that the intermarriage link between Muqtada and Jaafar al-Sadr, in addition to a clear understanding between them in several matters, will enhance the latter's chances of heading the new government.
However, Marei does not rule out that Sadr will face difficulties in running the government in the event that differences within the political system persist for a later period.
On the possibility of the leader of the Sadr bloc giving up the ambition of forming a political majority government and not a consensual government as demanded by al-Maliki, Marei confirms - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net - that the political developments and agreements concluded by the active forces that are still insisting on ensuring their vital interests do not seem to want to abandon them now.