In Basra.. This Pastry Is Made from That Dough

All the political upheavals experienced in Iraq are an inevitable result of a flawed process that was not built according to political work programs and plans as understood in democratic countries, based on scientific rules and foundations. There are no real political organizations in Iraq; rather, there are tribal, religious, ethnic, and sectarian gatherings that lie outside any political action recognized worldwide. Parties are formed from personal desires, blocs are built on sectarian bases and interests, and armed groups ready to attack the opposing side operate under individual wills and slogans of intimidation and exclusion. There are no projects aimed at stability, construction, or a secure future. The forty million voters await an agreement from fragmented groups that have never agreed beyond their narrow personal interests.

Sometimes some groups form under a collective name, enter elections, and win, but this victory signals division—not due to ideas, ambitions, or public projects beneficial to the country, but because of the division of shares allocated to this and that faction. Experience has proven that the worst American export to Iraq was the (Provincial Councils). It would not be wrong to say that the years of urban and service transformation in Basra were the years when the Provincial Council was dissolved and powers were confined to the Governor's office. Despite all that has been said about his work, we witnessed significant successes. A simple review of the council members shows that they came from parties and blocs none of whom work to prioritize the city's interest and its residents over their party, bloc, or personal interests. Thus, we face 25 wills, which can be described at best as personal, seeking personal futures without projects or programs concerning the city's future.

A member of Basra's council announced the formation of a new bloc consisting of 13 members after three members withdrew from the Design Bloc headed by Basra Governor Asaad Al-Eidani. The member spoke about the new bloc working for the city's benefit, as if he had studied politics and party work at the world's most prestigious institutes or came from another planet with experience in the strongest democracies. Meanwhile, Basra residents repeat the famous saying: "This pastry is made from that dough." Every political practice in Iraq is flawed, but the problem is that everyone knows the mistake and insists on marketing it as an inevitable evil. Every political and religious figure and bloc collects files against each other and threatens to use them at the right time, which never comes because no one has exposed, stopped, held accountable, or changed the situation. Thus, we are in a cycle unlike any other in the world, where everyone accuses and everyone remains silent at the appropriate time, from Mr. Maliki to Mr. Wathiq Al-Battat.

The rift caused by members of the Justice and Unity Bloc withdrawing from Design will not be the last. The split was perhaps expected by many observers of political shifts in Iraq. It is unknown whether Al-Eidani left the office of Mr. Abdul A'la Al-Moussawi with satisfactory results or not. This is because the three members of the Justice and Unity Bloc would not have withdrawn from Design without consulting Mr. Al-Moussawi, the sect leader. Therefore, their joining the new bloc was likely decided beforehand and before Al-Eidani's visit to him. Did the new bloc members accurately foresee the future of political shifts? Will the "Sadiqoon" Bloc be the one to appoint the new governor, or is something else looming on the horizon? The Basra citizen may not care who leaves or comes, but they look forward to someone who will continue the successful path planned and established by Asaad Al-Eidani.