The Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) has failed to come to an agreement on a new cabinet, with Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril reporting that some of the members had been settled on but that more discussion was needed when talks broke down.
The rebel council has had no cabinet since August 8, when Jibril dissolved the entire cabinet for “improper administrative procedures,” in the wake of the capture and assassination of their own military leader, Gen. Abdul Fattah Younes.
Younes death was seen by many as an inside job, and ousting the cabinet was an effort by Jibril to placate his family, which has powerful tribal connections. Replacing the cabinet has, so far, been an exercise in futility.
This is because the NTC is split virtually down the middle between supporters of Jibril, mostly defectors from the Gadhafi regime, and Islamists loyal to military commander Abdulhakim Belhaj. With the NTC looking for consensus on the cabinet and both sides hoping to cut the other out as much as possible, a deal will be extremely difficult, if not impossible.
But they have picked out some really nice drapes and an adorable sofa!