ASSESSMENTS

The Tides of Power Shift Away from Iraq's Outgoing Premier

Aug 12, 2014 | 22:19 GMT

The Tides of Power Shift Away from Iraq's Outgoing Premier
On state television Iraqi President Fouad Massoum shakes hands with Prime Minister-elect Haider al-Abadi (R), tasked on Aug. 11 with forming a government after Nouri al-Maliki.

(SABAH ARAR/AFP/Getty Images)

Summary

Over the past 24 hours, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has watched the vast majority of Iraq's Shiite leadership announce its support for the newly appointed prime minister-elect, former Deputy Speaker of Parliament Haider al-Abadi. Al-Abadi is a senior leader and member of parliament in Iraq's Shiite Islamist Hizb al-Dawah party as well as al-Maliki's own State of Law coalition. Along with the major Kurdish and Sunni Arab political figures, Iraq's Shiite community in particular has come out strongly against al-Maliki's bid for a third term as prime minister, leaving him with a rapidly dwindling support base.

Although increasingly disenfranchised, Nouri al-Maliki has built enough resilience during his tenure as prime minister to survive in politics, if not in his current post. ...

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