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Clock ticks down for Iraqi PM as protests rock the country

The blocs that put Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi in office seem to be sacrificing him to save their political interests.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi speaks during a symbolic funeral ceremony of Major General Ali al-Lami, who commands the Iraqi Federal Police's Fourth Division, who was killed in Salahuddin, in Baghdad, Iraq October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily - RC115CD84880

Muqtada al-Sadr and Hadi al-Amiri, the two main supporters of Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, agreed Oct. 29 to work on removing him from the office and forming a new government as protests expand across central and southern Iraq.

Sadr is the head of largest parliamentary bloc, Sairoon, and Amiri heads the second largest, Fatah. The alliance between the two blocs brought Abdul Mahdi to the office last year. Now both are distancing themselves from him to protect their political interests and status.

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