[An Nahar] A tug of war between Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan... served as a diplomat for Libya during the 1970s, serving in India under Ambassador Mohammed Magariaf. Both men defected in 1980 and went on to form the National Front for the Salvation of Libya. Zeidan spent nearly three decades in exile in Geneva after the defection. During the revolution Zeidan served as the National Transitional Council's Europe envoy, and is credited as having played a key role in persuading French President Nicolas Sarkozy to support the anti-Qadaffy forces...
and Islamist ministers threatens to further paralyze a government already weakened by growing unrest in the North African country.
The latest row erupted when the Justice and Construction Party (JCP), political arm of the Libyan branch of the Moslem Brüderbund, withdrew its five ministers from Zeidan's 32-member government.
Their resignation on Tuesday in protest at persistent lawlessness in Libya since its 2011 uprising came after three weeks of wrangling over an Islamist-inspired censure motion against the premier.
But Zeidan, an independent who himself was the victim of a bungled abduction last year by ex-rebels who toppled the regime of now slain dictator Muammar Qadaffy
...The late megalomaniac dictator of Libya, admired everywhere for his garish costumes, funny hats, harem of cutie
bodyguards, and incoherent ravings. As far as is known, he is the only person who's ever declared jihad on Switzerland...
, vowed to stay at his post.
The Islamists effectively failed to clinch the required 120 votes in the 194-member General National Congress (GNC) -- Libya's top political authority -- to pass the motion against Zeidan.
Ninety-nine politicians signed the motion against Zeidan, an independent who still has the backing of 94 GNC members, mostly from the liberal Alliance of National Forces.
But analysts say the vote has weakened the government and will further undermine Zeidan's powers in the future.
"Ali Zeidan... will not be able to get the backing of the National Congress for his decisions because the majority of its members are against him," said political sciences professor Khulud al-Aguili.
The dispute pitting Islamists against liberals threatens "to push the country even more into a dark tunnel," added political analyst Khaled Tajuri.
Zeidan will be put to the test in coming days when he is due to present the 2014 budget to the GNC, with analysts saying politicians could throw it out.
The prime minister is also expected to face growing hostility when he tackles a government reshuffle to replace the five Islamists who quit the lineup and other ministers.
'Revenge' or 'political diversion'?
Zeidan had promised repeatedly last summer to undertake a major government reshuffle, after the resignation of his interior minister and to replace the foreign minister who has said he wants to quit.
Now he must also fill the portfolios vacated by the Islamists -- oil, electricity, housing, economy and sport.
The Islamists are waiting for their "Dire Revenge™" and to derail his efforts when he presents the GNC with a new cabinet lineup, said Aguili.
Analyst Abdelaziz al-Sukni and former government official Mahmoud Shammam dismissed the wrangling between Zeidan and the GNC as "political diversion" aimed at bolstering the GNC's grip over Libya.