Just 15 months after being confirmed, Adil Abd al-Mahdi is out as Prime Minister of Iraq (MEES, 26 October 2018). His replacement, Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi, was appointed 1 February by President Barham Salih and will take over amidst protests and nationwide instability in Iraq – now in its fifth month following the flare up in October (MEES, 11 October 2019).
Mr Allawi’s first priority is to appoint a cabinet, a far-from-easy task given the need to balance various competing political factions. Especially given that, like Mr Abd al-Mahdi who resigned in November in response to the demonstrations (MEES, 8 November 2019), Mr Allawi lacks a strong support base of his own. (CONTINUED - 219 WORDS)