44 Middle East & Africa The EconomistJune 1st 2019
2 support for his party in the next election,
while hastening his rival’s downfall.
Mr Netanyahu normally exudes confi-
dence. But as the deadline to form a govern-
ment approached, he looked desperate. He
tried to tempt Labour to join him by offer-
ing it the defence portfolio—even though
he has spent years branding the party as
weak on security. Perhaps he was just try-
ing to scare Mr Lieberman into a compro-
mise. Perhaps he was scared himself. Mr
Netanyahu has been indicted, pending a
hearing, in three corruption cases. He was
counting on his new coalition to pass laws
that would grant him immunity from pros-
ecution and limit the Supreme Court’s
power to overturn legislation.
Prosecutors accuse Mr Netanyahu of
taking gifts from wealthy benefactors in re-
turn for favours, and offering help with reg-
ulatory matters to publishers in exchange
for positive coverage. He denies wrongdo-
ing. The allegations did not seem to hurt
him during the last election. But even if he
wins the next one, he may not have time (or
a majority) to pass his desired laws before
pre-trial hearings begin in October. His
lawyers have tried to delay the proceed-
ings. They are now ploughing through
piles of evidence.
Mr Lieberman is the first right-wing
politician to rebel against Mr Netanyahu.
Will others follow? Within Likud there are
grumbles, but only one senior member,
Gideon Saar, a former interior and educa-
tion minister, has criticised the effort to
grant the prime minister immunity. The
party has never deposed its leader and Mr
Netanyahu is still popular with the rank
and file. Other potential rivals seem not to
share Mr Lieberman’s assessment of the
prime minister’s vulnerability. That Mr
Netanyahu was able to convince a majority
of lawmakers to fire themselves shows the
hold he still has over the right wing.
It is also a testament to the weakness of
the opposition. Benny Gantz, the leader of
Blue and White, which also won 35 seats in
the last election, demanded that he be al-
lowed a shot at forming a government. But
he could not muster the votes to block Mr
Netanyahu’s move. During the latest elec-
tion he was unable to cut into the prime
minister’s support, instead taking votes
from other centre-left parties. Turnout was
down. Mr Gantz may have trouble convinc-
ing voters to show up in September if he
seems likely to lose again.
Much can change between now and
then. In late June the Trump administra-
tion will unveil the economic portion of its
plan for peace between Israel and the Pales-
tinians. It had delayed the announcement
in order to keep it from becoming an issue
in the last election. But the new vote will
probably turn into another referendum on
Mr Netanyahu, who has four months to
convince voters to increase his mandate. 7A
fterdiscoveringthatoneofhis
employees had embezzled $800,000,
Saif took him to a court in Baghdad and
won. When the thief still did not return
the cash, he was thrown in jail. But he
was soon released, probably after paying
a bribe. Fearing he would never see his
money again, Saif began negotiating
with the thief’s tribe—or, rather, his
rental sheikh did. Saif, who grew up
abroad, was unfamiliar with tribal prac-
tices, so he hired a tribe to back him and
its leader (the sheikh) to represent him.
Iraq is home to around 150 tribes,
whose sheikhs long helped resolve dis-
putes. Saddam Hussein tried to weaken
them, but after he fell in 2003, sheikhs
filled the vacuum left by a fragile and
corrupt state. Today even some corporate
lawyers advise their clients to use tribal
councils rather than courts, especially if
the sheikhs involved have links to pow-
erful militias. This has led to a booming
new business: sheikhs who rent out their
services. Only some are real.
It is often hard to tell, especially in
cities, where tribal bonds have weak-
ened. Certain restaurants in Baghdad are
known as meeting spots for rental
sheikhs. Sometimes people on the wrong
side of the law seek out the fake sort
because they are too embarrassed to go to
their real sheikhs. Saif, by contrast,
didn’t know his own sheikhs. He found
his rented tribe through a friend. It cost
him thousands of dollars in meals and
attendance fees, as the rental sheikh and
his counterpart mulled over the case. As
often happens, both sheikhs demanded a
commission for a successful settlement.Relyingontribestosettledisputes
has advantages. Courts dawdle; tribal
negotiations can lead to deals in a matter
of days. They are good at settling com-
munity or family feuds. But there is
growing abuse of the system, especially
as it takes on more commercial disputes.
In rural areas tribes often extort money
from oil and gas firms that operate near-
by. In cities impostor sheikhs take mon-
ey without producing results. Seven
months into tribal negotiations, Saif had
recovered only a fraction of the money
that was stolen from him.
One reason could be a recently passed
law declaring tribal intimidation tactics,
such as the degga ashairiya (tribal knock),
acts of terror. The deggainvolved shoot-
ing (or “knocking”) at someone’s house.
It was a useful way to get people to the
negotiating table. It was also abused.
Many Iraqis welcomed the ban.
They complain, though, that the
government has not also strengthened
the legal system. After years of war Adel
Abdul-Mahdi, the prime minister, has
vowed to boost investment to bring
down unemployment. But few investors
dare inject money into a country where
sheikhs and militias wield more influ-
ence than judges. Take the case of Mu-
hannad, who turned to the tribes when a
commercial tenant refused to vacate his
building—then stuck an ak-47 in his
face. According to a hand-scribbled tribal
agreement, Muhannad must pay the
tenant $140,000 to leave. “The govern-
ment isn’t strong enough to finish the
case,” said Muhannad. “So we prefer to
buy our peace and safety with money.”Rent-a-sheikh
Tribes in IraqBAGHDAD
With tribes settling more disputes, sheikhs are in high demandLet’s sheikh on it