Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is enjoying growing popularity among the public despite only assuming his responsibilities over a month ago, according to a poll by Independent Institute and Administration Civil Society Studies (IIACSS).
IIACSS, the Iraq representative of the Washington-based Gallup, surveyed over the phone a random sample of 1000 demographically divided Iraqis during the period between June 6 to 11 of this year.
Political researcher Mazen Sahib indicated that Iraqis are more satisfied with Khadimi than they were with former Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi.
A clear majority of 64 percent of the participants said they were optimistic about Kadhimi as prime minister, a rate close to what his predecessor Haider al-Abadi received during his first month as prime minister, but much higher than Abdul-Mahdi’s, who only got 36 percent.
In addition, 60 percent of the participants said Kadhimi was able to fulfill his responsibilities, while Abdul-Mahdi only received 46 percent during his first month as prime minister.
Head of the Iraqi Advisory Council Farhad Alaaldin said that it is still difficult to give a conclusive result on Kadhimi’s performance because he is new and the Iraqis are yet to judge him.
Alaaldin told Asharq al-Awsat that Kadhimi's performance is acceptable, but he has not issued a complete program yet and must begin implementing the program so that people can form a clear idea about him.
The author and journalist, Ali Wajih, told Asharq Al-Awsat that regardless of the institution and the results of the poll, Kadhimi is the first prime minister who does not belong to a political party.
Wajih indicated that it may be early to determine his acceptance rates, but between receiving the support of the Shiite political parties and being under attack from their media, Kadhimi can establish a base of supporters who are dissatisfied with the current state.
The Prime Minister may not have a mass support base yet, and he may never have one given that he is a transitional prime minister.
However, Wajih believes Kadhimi can gain the support of the public given that he does not belong to any party and did not suppress protesters if he managed to contain the situation in the streets and no mistakes were made.
