Can Iraq make headway against corruption?

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has sought guidance from parliament on whether he should appoint party politicians or independent experts to the new cabinet he has promised.

He was responding to a deadline set by parliament, which wants him to come up with a new line-up by Thursday. This new cabinet is to focus on reining in corruption.

Influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is meanwhile threatening Abadi with a no-confidence vote if he fails to announce his new ministers by Thursday.

Sadr on Sunday launched a personal sit-in inside Baghdad’s Green Zone, which houses embassies and government offices.

To escalate the pressure on Abadi, Sadr’s supporters are continuing with a sit-in just outside the district’s gates.

But is a new government the answer? And will Abadi be able to dismantle a system in which, some say, corruption has become the norm?

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault

Guests:

Dlawer Ala’Aldeen – President of the Middle East Research Institute

Maria Fantappie – Senior analyst on Iraq and Kurdish Affairs, International Crisis Group

Ali Al-Dabbagh – Former spokesman for the Iraqi government