Zaidi, Maliki discuss filling empty ministries, with no interior or defence minister as coalition leaves

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met State of Law leader Nouri al-Maliki on Tuesday to discuss completing his cabinet, four and a half months after parliament approved him, with the interior and defence ministries still vacant on the eve of the coalition’s departure.

The two stressed “the need to strengthen national unity to overcome current challenges” and “the importance of moving forward with understandings and dialogue among national political forces to complete the government formation,” the prime minister’s office said.

Parliament confirmed 14 ministers when it approved Zaidi on May 14, rejecting nominees for interior, planning, culture, construction and housing, and higher education, and postponing votes on defence, labour, migration and youth and sports. That leaves nine of 23 ministries without a confirmed minister. Zaidi told Coordination Framework leaders in early August that his government was nearly complete. Interior has been contested between the Framework’s parties, with State of Law’s earlier nominee rejected.

The meeting follows a week of open criticism of Zaidi from inside the alliance. Two State of Law figures said the Framework had no agenda beyond sharing power and that its disputes had reached a “skull-breaking” stage, and a lawmaker from former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s bloc accused Zaidi of implementing whatever Washington asks. Zaidi met President Donald Trump in New York last week, accompanied only by an interpreter on the Iraqi side.