Libya’s political architecture shows signs of imminent collapse

Public displays of rage and frustration by Libya’s political class highlights the quickening decay of Libya’s political architecture as politicians feel like they are losing control of the situation. Prolonged financial instability is calling into question Libya’s four-year political status quo, as corruption continues to degrade governing capacity and increase competition between Libyan militias. This degradation of all aspects of Libyan society, spurred on by the nation’s corrupt political class, is now growing out of their control.

Increasingly, western Libyan politicians are taking to social media and public speeches to air their grievances and deflect blame from themselves. While western Libya is bearing the brunt of this dysfunction, other Libyan and international actors are not taking action out of political expediency. Words, not actions, define this recent trend of Libya’s collapse, and real clear action will be needed to get out of this crisis.

A closer look

Due to increasing political failures and economic difficulties, Libya's most powerful politicians have recently resorted to publicly complaining about the degradation of the country while also seeking to avoid any blame for getting the country to this position. Presidential Council Vice Chairman Mousa al-Koni, attending a U.S.-Libya business forum, delivered an extensive speech denouncing the country's split state, increasing foreign influence, and Government of National Unity (GNU) Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba’s inability to control his own government.

Khalid al-Mishri, who is currently contesting the leadership of the High Council of State (HCS), also was in attendance and complained about economic corruption and the influx of migrants into Libya. Mishri’s participation in this conference was then denounced by Mohammed Takala, the other challenger to lead the HCS. Takala’s faction complained about how the conference hosted an “imposter” and accused the conference organizers of trying to “impose a de facto reality”, despite the conference being an entirely private event and not an official government meeting. The biggest of all these incidents however was during a cabinet meeting hosted by Dabaiba, in response to a statement by the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) accusing Dabaiba’s government of financial mismanagement.

During this meeting Dabaiba went off on a long rant, accusing eastern Libyan actors as the sole reason for the growing CBL crisis, and personally complained about other politicians like al-Koni for publicly complaining about him. Dabaiba’s speech was marked by a defense of his own spending, deflections of blame for the country’s problems, and occasional violent statements, including one where he threatened to break the legs of those who “stepped out of line”.

Going deeper