Dabaiba Government: Successes and failures

Since the sudden arrival of “Abdul Hamid Dabaiba” to power in Libya in early February 2021, After intensive negotiations in Geneva, Many great challenges arose before him that faced the performance of his government, the “Government of National Unity”, Which started from the ministerial formation of his government to trying to approve and get the budget proposed by him, In order to try to achieve the necessary performance that suits the time circumstance that the country is going through.

Success Indicators

The government has partially succeeded in overcoming the obstacle of parliament and gaining confidence, It also succeeded in overcoming many other obstacles that were in the way of its work, Perhaps the most difficult was the Parliament’s coup against him by forming another government headed by “Fathi Bashagha”, Which represented the biggest and real challenge to “Dabaiba” and his government, He fought a fierce struggle at the local, regional and international levels for survival, and contain his opponent “Labashagha”, The owner of a strong personality that has a circle of good relations at the regional and international levels, He acquired it during his tenure as Minister of Interior in the Government of National Accord.

Bashagha promised his voters, As head of the so-called “Government of Stability”, to enter Tripoli smoothly and peacefully, In agreement with the armed formations in the western region, This is what made “Dabaiba” use all possible means to prevent him from entering Tripoli, Not to allow the compromise of what is believed to be its legitimacy gained from the Geneva Agreement and the provisions contained therein, And he succeeded.

Ingredients and foundations of success

Based on the above, The most prominent achievement of the government of “Abdul Hamid Dabaiba” was in confronting and neutralizing his opponents who thought of wresting power from him, And on top of them” Fathi Labashagha”, And to ensure the survival and continuity of his government.

Dabaiba relied on a number of pillars and tools that represented his strengths and tipped his hand in the face of his opponents, The main ones are:

• 
  Dar al-Iftaa
  Foundation: It seems that this pillar was a decisive element and a critical figure in giving impetus to the “Dabaiba” government. It enabled him to neutralize many of the forces that reserved his government. The interventions of Dar al-Iftaa through Sheikh “Sadiq Al-Ghariani”, By publishing some controversial fatwas, Which had a great impact in saving a great effort that the government was required to make in stating its positions and arguments, What was remarkable was the timing of the interventions of the “Sheikh” coinciding with some important benefits and stations.

For example, his fatwa on the ineligibility of the government appointed by the House of Representatives led by Fathi Bashagha to enter Tripoli, and the call to stand against it, In an official statement issued by the Council of Sharia Research and Studies at Dar Al-Iftaa, condemning the attempt of the “failed coup government to enter the capital, Tripoli” on May 17, 2022, Under reference number (B 13/1443), Which had a great impact on the decline of many who stood behind Bashagha and believed in change.

As well as the fatwa of Dar al-Iftaa, which called for the illegality of going out in the July 27, 2023 movement, Such occasions were supposed to be taken advantage of by Dabaiba’s competitors, But these fatwas have always thwarted the hopes of opponents and contributed to the failure of any movement opposed to the “Dabaiba” government. But on the other hand, Those who follow the Libyan affairs do not see any statement or statement from Dar al-Ifta on the suspicions of corruption that pursued the Government of National Unity, In addition to a number of its ministers and affiliates, This condonation did not exist in the past, Especially in the Government of National Accord led by” Fayez Al-Sarraj”, Dar al-Iftaa has been hostile since its early days, describing it as “the government of the frigate”.

Finally, in this context, The comment of “Sheikh Ghariani” on the meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of National Unity, “Najla Mangoush” with her Israeli counterpart, In line with his continuous defense of Dabaiba and his government, At a time when the Prime Minister must be held responsible for the mistakes of his ministers, Especially since such meetings would not have taken place without coordination with the government as a whole, It does not reflect the policy of a ministry as much as it is the policy of the government, The responsibility here must be solidarity, Sheikh Ghariani came to state that what the minister did represents herself and the government as a whole should not be held accountable for this mistake. The inclusion of the Sheikh in the Tobruk parliament and Haftar in this matter, When he said that “what Mangoush did is less harmful than a transitional government formed by the parliament of Tobruk and Haftar”, Which is misplaced, The Libyan people should not be placed between bad choices and terrorizing them with the danger of the alternative. Rather, it is to evaluate the government and pressure it to ensure its continuity with positive effectiveness, to improve its policy and to overcome its obstacles, It is not a requirement to call for its solution, But at least admit that she bears responsibility instead of trying to exonerate her for such catastrophic mistakes.

In this context, A vital issue that is at the heart of national security emerges, It is the danger of using religion as a tool to consolidate the pillars of governance and confront opponents, On the one hand, it gives the opportunity to others to use the same tool if the opportunity arises, On the other hand, it shakes the people’s confidence in the religious establishment and its sheikhs, This causes a defect in the structure of Libyan society, It is Libya’s imbalance that is indispensable in light of the imbalance it already suffers from in its structure as a state and its institutions. And even in the very concept of the State. What guarantees their cohesion in the absence of the state and the central authority are societal and religious institutions such as Dar al-Ifta. It should therefore be far from entering into such narrow political calculations, And to have wisdom and caution before issuing its statements and fatwas and to realize its dimensions and repercussions.

• 
  Security forces and armed formations
  : The Government of National Unity has resorted to supporting and strengthening the security and military forces and armed formations, To ensure loyalty and subordination, By securing their requirements and facilitating their working conditions, And assigning it tasks and activities that serve the continuity of the government and the continuity of its work on the one hand, On the other hand, these armed formations are legitimized.

It is worth mentioning, Dabaiba as Minister of Defense made a number of security and military moves to neutralize and contain his opponents, Therefore, he was keen on the security level to adhere throughout his tenure as prime minister to the post of defense minister, And he kind of succeeded in that.

First, he was able to secure the use of “Turkish drones”, who was under the administration of his government in his capacity as Minister of Defense in his confrontations with the armed formations opposed to him in the western region, Which in many government statements have been described as “outlaws”, He thus gave more strength and effectiveness in the face of his opponents, Thus, it constituted a qualitative leap in the government’s military and security performance. He made everyone review their security and military arrangements and positions.

Thus, Dabaiba was able to tame and contain many armed formations in favor of supporting the project of continuing his government. And the use of the policy of “carrot and stick” with other formations that distance themselves from supporting his government, It works to strengthen its links and communication with the General Command in the Eastern Province, As happened in the initial bombing campaigns on Osama al-Juwaili, his former strong ally in southern Tripoli, When he tried to enter Tripoli by force, Or in the wave of bombing with marches on the sites of armed formations described as strong in their geographical areas of influence, And pose a threat to the capital in the vicinity of the city of Zawiya, Under the pretext of fighting illegal immigration, fuel smuggling and criminal formations, As described in the government’s statement, However, some of these actions are acceptable and logical to impose State authority and centralize the possession of arms.

This was a strong warning not to exceed the permitted for these armed formations, and warn her and others not to support or participate in any anti-government movement. While the Ministry of Defense of the Government of National Unity still insists on adhering to its previous narrative, Which confirms that the sites targeted by the air strikes are accurate sites used for irregular migration and fuel smuggling, “Dabaiba” seeks to secure the entire western region, He made it a pro-government area.

• Central BankThe support of the Central Bank, the Libyan House of Money, through its alliance with its president, “Al-Sadiq Al-Kabir” for the success of his government’s programs, has played an active and important role in assigning the effort and financial position of “Dabaiba” to allow him to manage the state and support his electoral projects in an explicit use of the concept of “political money”, which is the powerful tool that enabled him to pass his policies, build alliances, and even buy receivables.
• Coalition Building After the round of preventing “Fathi Bashagha” from entering Tripoli, “Dabaiba” continued efforts to prove the effectiveness of his government in managing the state, and amid the calm that marred the post-“Bashagha” stage and between the debates and dialogues that did not stop between the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of State, “Dabaiba” was able to enter the circles of influence in both houses, and talk about making a bloc loyal to him in both houses became no secret to anyone, and he looks forward through this to what he and his government describe as “ensuring the continuation of achievements and creating A real change for the benefit of the citizen.”

In this context, He worked to eliminate the strongest competitor in the western region, the head of the Supreme Council of State, “Khaled Al-Meshri”, and after several efforts and building alliances under the dome of the Supreme State reached his goal in excluding “Al-Meshri”, the strongest competitor and the biggest threat to the continuation of his government.

Another manifestation of the ability of “Abdul Hamid Dabaiba” in his management of the policy of building alliances is his keenness to communicate with Dar Al-Ifta and keep it informed of the details of political and service developments. which relate to the interests of citizens in the State, and to make the house a protective cover for his government, and a safety valve with which to prevent the occurrence of activation, socially and militarily influential, with any negative effort against his government. The policy of building alliances adopted by Dabaiba prompted the holding of contacts and meetings – mostly unannounced – for his government or its representative with the sons of “Khalifa Haftar”. To reach a degree of understandings in the management of some state files, The most prominent of which was the file of the National Oil Corporation and its subsidiaries.

There is also an important and strong element that cannot be overlooked from the equation of the tools of the strong of “Abdul Hamid Dabaiba”, It is the employment of media and the use of social media platforms in the emergence and mass communication, To show him as an open and sociable head of government with his popular base, can be used and employed within the framework of any upcoming electoral entitlement, The architect of this media propaganda was his close minister, Walid Al-Lafi, in an attempt to show Dabaiba as a strong man and beloved by the people.

As for its regional and international movement, He did not stop, Starting with the signing of reconstruction contracts with Egypt and Turkey, And another in the fields of energy and oil with Italy, France, Russia and the UAE, And other decades in different fields with most of the countries that were opposed to his government when he arrived at the railway road “the headquarters of the Prime Minister”, Most of his external problems have thus been solved, May he continue to rule, Taking advantage of Gaddafi’s previous saying, “With our money, we solve all our problems.”

Indicators of failure

The recent Tripoli clashes showed the weakness of the national unity government and broke the slogans of security, stability and control of military formations in Tripoli and the western region, This may weaken the Dbeibeh government and rethink its viability by local and international backers.

On the other hand, Corruption files have emerged that undermine the continuity of state institutions in performing their work efficiently. Where many of the recent decisions of the Government of National Unity centered on the sharing of positions and spoils and the desire to rotate solutions for the next stages, What many see as serving the idea of continued influence and influence of the government, By exploiting the huge opportunities in the government employment file, which the government has burdened the regulatory and administrative bodies, It was a source of extortion and the purchase of loyalties.

Corruption has affected the ministers in the government and their agents, It also emerged the incursion of those close to the “Dabaiba” and his loyalists, As well as the apparent incursion of armed formations in the western region in certain sectors, Such as (oil, drainage, Foreign investments, And the Ministry of Foreign Health in addition to embassies, consuls and annexes affiliated to them).

In the same vein, It may be noted that ministries are emptied of their content in favor of organs created by the government, and the status of those close to and loyal to it, and the marginalization of ministers and the implementation and power of other ministers, This led to the growth of public opinion opposing the performance of the government and demanding the formation of another government, The parliament and the Supreme Council of State, in line with the vision of the UN mission, moved towards adopting a new roadmap that provides for the formation of a third government.

Conclusion

At a time when the most important successes of “Abdul Hamid Dabaiba” represented in neutralizing his opponents and ensuring the continuity and survival of his government, The most important and vital issues for the Libyan people, such as the fight against corruption and the rational management of state resources, have shown clear failures.

The multiplicity of paths exerted by the government of “Dabaiba” in defending its chances of continuing gave an impression of the extent of the capabilities it has, If harnessing all available state resources enabled it to remain and continue temporarily until the date of writing this paper, Can the government continue and continue its work in light of the policies woven by Dabaiba? And to what extent can it do that??

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