October 10th, Iraq held elections. They were supposed to get a new Speaker of Parliament, a new President and a new Prime Minister. That really hasn't happened.
First off, they did get a Speaker. It's the same one they had before the election. Nothing says 'change' like no change. As for the president and the prime minister? Still haven't gotten around to naming those. Five months later and they still haven't gotten around to it.
The political stalemate continues.
At FOREIGN POLICY, Renad Mansour and Benedict Robin-D'Cruz showed up to ask, "Why Muqtada al-Sadr Failed to Reform Iraq" when there was always a much better question: Why did the western press go out of their way to build the erratic cult leader up as some major political force for the last months?
Was it because the US government paid Moqtada off in August (bribed) to get him to support the upcoming elections?
Was it because they love to lie?
Or was it because they're just so damn stupid that they never learn anythign and they never know anything?
Yes, Moqtada's bloc (not his part, his alliance) got more sets in the Parliament than any other alliance. but it wasn't enough to form a government without the help of others (and Moqtada's never been known for his ability to work with others). Also true? In the October 2020 elections? His alliance got less votes than they did in the previous one. He's not that popular. The choice of the Iraqi people, as evidenced by the low turnout, was "none of the above."
Five months. The poltiical stalemate is now at fix months and counting.
Maybe it's time for various whores in the press to wstart explaining why they hailed Moqtada as a "kingmaker" and did so with no proof of that claim.