Al-Nabaa Forum for Dialogue organized a panel discussion in Holy Karbala titled "Obstacles to Forming the Iraqi Government." The session was moderated by forum member Dr. Muslim Abbas, with contributions from MP Dr. Riadh Al-Masoudi; Dr. Wathiq Al-Hashimi, Head of the Iraqi Group for Strategic Studies and political analyst; and Dr. Hussain Allawi, Head of Akkad Center for Strategic Affairs and Future Studies. The symposium was attended by several directors of research and studies centers, academics, legal professionals, civil activists, media personnel, and observers of Iraqi political affairs.
For his part, Al-Hashimi stated: "There are major problems and numerous obstacles preventing the announcement of the largest parliamentary bloc's formation, amid the presence of a powerful external actor attempting to push Iraq back into sectarian and ethnic 'houses' (Shiaá, Sunni, and Kurdish). I anticipate that this situation will drag on, perhaps for six months, until a government is formed. It will be a national partnership government, and opposition will be non-existent in this parliamentary term."
The Head of the forum, journalist Ali Al-Talqani, affirmed the "immense complexity of the political landscape. Through this program, we aim to gauge the status of political alliances, particularly the formation of the largest bloc, given that it will be responsible for forming the government." He added that "despite the approaching first session of the Iraqi Parliament, the identity of the political bloc that will form the government remains unclear. Multiple scenarios exist because consultations on forming the largest bloc publicly seek national interests, while behind closed doors, external interests compel a different approach, at times taking a political dimension governed by political agendas, and at other times forcing sectarian realignments."
Al-Talqani noted that "a breakdown of trust among all political blocs remains the dominant dynamic. Ultimately, all conditions set for government formation are self-serving; consequently, agreements will remain mere ink on paper and stopgap measures. For instance, Kirkuk governorate, the Kurdistan Region, the US-Iranian dispute, and party quotas for ministerial posts will all remain unresolved, directly impacting Iraq's internal security."
The participants called on the winning blocs to expedite the formation of the government and lower their ceiling of demands in order to bring an end to the suffering of the Iraqi people.