Frenzied political competition taking place in the Iraqi arena over the eligibility of the post of prime minister in the elections to be held next October. What distinguished these early political debates between parties was their use of unfamiliar terms such as “duck, opel,” in an attempt to evoke the sectarian unrest of 2006.
What is happening now in terms of meetings and contacts between traditional political parties and forces are initial understandings and talks, and an attempt to explore the atmosphere, and it is considered the beginning of the formation of alliances according to the variables of the Iraqi arena, says political analyst Jabbar Al-Mashhadani to Al-Jazeera Net.
On the nature of political competition, Al-Mashhadani states that everyone wants to remain in the scene, and this is what the major Shiite political forces announced clearly in the issue of prime minister. The head of the “state of law” Nouri al-Maliki objected to this, in light of the spread of rumors that the latter’s relationship with US President Joe Biden may contribute to his return to prime minister.
Political retirement
The leader of the “wisdom” coalition, Ammar al-Hakim, also believes that he is the one who will bring the next prime minister, and he has an unannounced alliance with Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, who may change this alliance towards Al-Sadr, especially after the clear spinning between the two parties, Al-Mashhadani adds.
Al-Mashhadani points out that Al-Kazemi also wants a second term, and extends his strings with everyone, as he is close to the so-called “loyalist mobilization” loyal to Iran and close to Al-Sadr and Al-Hakim, so it is not possible to know his true direction now to where.
He points out that the competition between parties and blocs in these elections will go far beyond the accepted limits, and it seems that we are facing a very hot election, in which the blocs that have been “addicted” to power will strive to preserve their interests and not leave the scene. At the very least, they aspire to an early or late political retirement. Well.
Salman believes that the terms duck and Opel indicate the size of the differences between the political blocs (Al-Jazeera)Duck and Opel
Iraq and Iraqis are still suffering from terms that are brought from the Iraqi memory cemetery, in which the events are buried without dying, such as the term “duck” associated with death squads during the period of sectarian fighting, according to writer and journalist Bara Salman.
Salman added to Al-Jazeera Net that these terms such as “orange bus” and its symbolism and appearance are floating as algae on “the stagnant water of the political process,” indicating the size of the fissures and differences between the political blocs and parties that do not seem to be able to control the political path.
#OrangeBus_bye pic.twitter.com/Rk3i88UYns
– Mohamed Karbouli (@mohamdalkarboli) February 20, 2021
Salman likens the parties to political shops, as they are formed and divided according to interim interests and not according to visions and ideas, so there are no schools of thought or strategic goals of these parties, and therefore the descent of Karbouli from the Halbusi bus confirms that this type of bus will not complete the road, he said.
For his part, Professor of Political Science Dr. Ahmed Adnan Al-Kinani believes that the use of these new terms has become part of the intended indications in order to change the direction of voters’ opinion, while mobilizing citizens on different grounds, unlike what happened in the 2018 elections.
Al-Kinani expects that the next stage will be fraught with frenzied arguments (Al-Jazeera)Political controversy
In his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Kinani expresses his belief that the next stage will be fraught with frenzied political debates trying to invest all media and social communication in order to bring down the other, defame him, or disclose and announce political and economic files full of suspicions of financial, administrative and political corruption and the like, and this will be Present in dealing with new competitors or with opponents alike.
Al-Kinani believes that the real impasse facing the current political situation will be in the difficulty of restoring the ranges of confidence between the ruling political class and the people burdened by crises, in light of the continuing complications of the current stage, especially during and after the Corona pandemic.
The next stage will be the process of proving a presence in the political arena on the part of all the parties of the authority and others, and between this and that new equation that continues to be part of previous arrangements that do not deviate from the contexts of what has happened since 2005, according to Al-Kinani.
It is likely that cross-border international and regional competition will be present in the next electoral scene, without provoking public anger and discontent, as happened in the post-2018 elections.
As for the upcoming political alliances, Al-Kinani says that they will be merely alliances with new names, but with pre-agreed consensus and settlements. The electoral results will be final for those who have influence and the ability to mobilize the masses, while the individual election will remain preeminent for candidates who wield wide influence in their constituency areas.
Iraqi interaction
Iraqis expressed, through their accounts on social networking sites, their dissatisfaction and mockery of these new terms and their repulsive connotations.
Journalist Miqdad Al-Humaidan wrote, “The black duck and the orange bus, I know !! A parliament is coming if there is a car garage? The Opel Alliance is coming and with strength.”
The black duck
&
The orange busI know !!
Parliament is coming if a car garageThe Opel Alliance is coming with a force 😁😎 #Iraq
– Miqdad Al-Humaidan (@ mukdadhumaidan2) February 20, 2021
Former parliamentarian Majid Shankali warned against political maneuvering by using military force to pave the way for the duck to reach the prime minister’s chair.
A political maneuver by using military force to pave the way for the duck to reach the prime minister’s chair.
– Majid Shankali (@majidshingali) February 8, 2021
As for writer and civil activist Louay Al-Nasiri, he says, “Between the egg duck and the orange bus, Iraqis’ hopes are always blown away by the wind. We hope for the coming period to see the official ban on the movement of these political cars on the Iraqi street, and for the maximum penalties to be imposed on their drivers.”
between #Duck And #OrangeBus I hope # The Iraqis Always blowing the wind, we hope in the coming period to witness the official ban on the movement of these political cars on the Iraqi street, and for the maximum penalties to be imposed on their drivers.# Iraq_mal_khalifuna #Ultra weapon is killing us
– LoayAlnassary (@AlnassaryLoay) February 20, 2021
In the midst of talking about electoral cars, political researcher Dr. Basil Hussein emphasized the need for fire trucks to deal with the burning of electoral boxes.
# Extinguish
Besides demanding election oversight, we need fire trucks to handle ballot box burning.– Dr. Basil Hussein, Dr. Basil hussein (@ drbasil14) February 13, 2021
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