The Iraqi parliament grants confidence to the al-Kadhimi government

He is the sixth prime minister since the 2003 US-led invasion. The appointment of 15 ministers has been approved, five rejected, including justice and migration. Ministries for oil and foreign affairs also remain vacant pending new negotiations. Fighting the economic crisis and the new coronavirus pandemic are among the priorities. The fears of new ISIS violence.

Baghdad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Iraqi Parliament voted overnight to entrust former intelligence chief Moustafa al-Kadhimi with confidence, with the aim of ending almost six months of protests and deep political institutional turmoil.

Deupties, spaced out and equipped with gloves and masks to counter the new coronavirus pandemic, approved the appointment, while behind the scenes clashes continued between parties around key ministries, including oil.

The majority of the 255 parliamentarians present at the vote approved the government program and the majority of the ministers proposed by the 53-year-old al-Kadhimi, who thus becomes the sixth Iraqi prime minister since the 2003 US invasion.

Legislators supported the appointment of 15 ministers and five were rejected, including trade, justice, culture, agriculture and migration. The oil and foreign departments also remain vacant pending further negotiations.

After the green light, al-Kadhimi assured that "Iraq's security, stability and growth will be our guidelines." The new executive's priorities include the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, which has so far caused more than 2,000 infections and more than 100 victims, and bring the perpetrators of violence against demonstrators to justice in the context of popular protests.

Iraq has experienced profound political and social turmoil in recent months, with street protests against corruption and an economic crisis that prompted Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to resign in November. The authorities have repeatedly tried to quell the demonstrations, triggering clashes that have resulted in over 500 deaths. The Chaldean patriarch, Card Louis Raphael Sako, also intervened on the tensions, stressing the need for a "secular state" to overcome the divisions.

Among the priorities that the new executive will face is the serious economic crisis, exacerbated by the pandemic, which caused a collapse in oil prices, the main source of income for the country. Added to this, is the growing violence of the Islamic State (SI, ex Isis), defeated on a military level but still active, and the regional tensions linked to the proxy war between the United States and Iran.