UN special envoy to Libya Martin Kobler is once again pushing the idea of a “unity government” to “fill the vacuum” in Libya, but with last week’s unity government in ruins, and stuck in Tunis, it seems an increasingly uphill battle, with no one really on board.
Everyone expected the unity effort to be fraught with difficulties, but the first bid to form such a government proved such a mess that it’s not clear how they’re going to be able to make another effort that won’t be doomed from the start.
The Tobruk-based parliament, the one the UN endorses, voted overwhelmingly to reject the unity government, complaining on several fronts, including the size of the unity cabinet, saying it was too big and included too many figures from the Tripoli-based parliament.
Yet the Tripoli-based parliament doesn’t seem to be on board either. They never voted on it in the first place, but have suggested that they want a whole separate track of talks, outside of the UN-organized efforts, to try to come up with a deal.
This was a concern from the start, as neither parliament really got behind the UN plan in more than an extremely vague sense, and neither seemed keen on an idea that would end with them losing most of their power.