"Tidbits From TNT" Saturday 5-14-2022

May 14

TNT:

Tishwash: Parliament postpones Saturday session

The Parliament's Media Department announced today, Friday, the postponement of its session scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday.

The department stated in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "at the request of some parliamentary blocs, and for further consultations for the maturation of the emergency support law for food security and development and for the need for more time, it was decided to postpone tomorrow's session." link

Tishwash: A report reveals Al-Sadr's choice if the independents failed to form a government with him

A Western press report monitored by (Iraq Today) says that Muqtada al-Sadr is now unable to form a new government, so he may have decided that there are other ways to marginalize his opponents, starting with appointing officials in Parliament.

After Muqtada al-Sadr offered independent MPs the opportunity to nominate a prime minister, Muqtada al-Sadr is already looking for the next option to break the country's political deadlock: keeping Mustafa al-Kazemi.

It has been seven months now since Iraqis went to the polls in parliamentary elections in October, and the fierce rivalry between the two camps - one led by the influential cleric al-Sadr and the other by the Shiite coordinating framework - has prevented anyone from forming a government.

A week ago, al-Sadr called on elected independents in parliament to form their own bloc and nominate a prime minister whose coalition - made up of Sadr's lawmakers, Sunni parties and the Kurdish Democratic Party - would support.

However, Iraqi political leaders involved in government formation talks have told al-Sadr that they have few expectations that they will do so, and are instead looking to keep current Prime Minister Al-Kadhimi in office for six months to a year.

“Al-Sadr is in no hurry to form a government. Retaining the current situation as it is for six months or a year is one of the solutions that is being strongly proposed now,” said one of the prominent leaders of Sadr’s Save the Homeland Alliance and who is close to Masoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.

He added that "there is no circumstance or local or international factor that pressures any of the players in the tripartite alliance to expedite the formation of the government."

He added, "If we talk about the United States, it is busy in other parts of the world and does not care much about what is currently happening in Iraq. As for Iran, the continuation of the situation is less harmful than the outbreak of fighting between Shiites and Shiites.

Parliament ’s move to al-Sadr has already had a great influence on the Al-Kazemi government, and in October his party “Sairoon Alliance” emerged as the clear victor. Since then, he has attempted to form a "majority government" alongside his Kurdish and Sunni allies that would marginalize the Shiite factions, collectively known as the Coordination Framework.

Unhappy with their exclusion from the next government, those factions boycotted Parliament and ensured that there was no quorum to continue the government formation process. But permanent stagnation would also be harmful.

If al-Sadr is able to maintain a monopoly on control through his control of parliament and the Kadhimi government, opposition groups will find their influence and power waning.

To prove the seriousness of his plan, al-Sadr did not wait for the two-week deadline for independents to take his next steps. He and his allies have declared that parliamentary work will continue regardless of whether or not the boycotters attend. link

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Mot: Deputy warns: The policies of the Ministry of Oil will lead to a popular revolution!

MP Hadi Al-Salami warned, on Saturday, of a popular revolution due to the policies of the Ministry of Oil to raise the prices of fuel supplied to governmental and private factories and factories, accusing Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar of mismanagement.

Al-Salami said in a press statement that "Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar has raised the prices of kerosene on state projects from 450 dinars per liter to 750 dinars."

He added that "the minister was not satisfied with raising the prices of kerosene, but was accompanied by raising the prices of black oil," noting that "the current oil minister is adopting a policy of systematic war against the Iraqi people."

Al-Salami accused the Oil Minister of "manipulating the capabilities of the Iraqi people and not being indifferent to the suffering of factory owners." link

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Tishwash: Al-Kazemi’s advisor: The Food Security Law supports prices and combats poverty

The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, explained, today, Saturday, the Central Bank’s measures to stabilize prices and reduce inflation, while stressing that the Food Security Law supports prices and combats poverty.

Salih told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "The main source of inflation or the rise in the general level of prices in Iraq is mainly caused by what is called transitional or imported inflation," noting that "the country is currently dependent in an unprecedented way on imported supply chains, all of which have been affected by degrees. different price growth due to high global energy prices and the food shortage crisis in the world and under the influence of the aggravation of the war in Eurasia.”

He added that "to face the burdens of inflation on economic life in Iraq, the Iraqi financial policy, through the indicators stipulated in the emergency law for food security and development, pledged to achieve broad support for food prices and limited cash incomes and to combat poverty in its various forms, as preceded by a package of measures taken by the fiscal policy.

And supportive of prices, including (zero taxes and customs duties) on a wide range of food and essential imports, as well as the stability of selling prices of all government goods and services, including, for example, fuel and electricity, as well as the expansion of ration card materials at subsidized prices, indicating that “the subsidy clause in spending The government ratio to GDP will remain high, which is directly estimated at 15% of Iraq's GDP. Saleh continued that "

He pointed out that "the precautionary measures of monetary policy to ensure general price stability and combat inflationary activities are definitely ready, and implemented when necessary, through a strict monetary policy in the interest of the strength and stability of the national currency, and in coordination with fiscal policy and general economic policy. link

Mot: .. I'll Bet Ya Didn't Knows! ~~~~~~