From the Retirement Home to the Presidential Palace
Opinion | Diyar Harki – Founder of KurdFile
Abdul Latif Rashid was, politically speaking, enjoying retirement when Masoud Barzani — in open rivalry with Barham Salih — engineered a KDP–PUK understanding that propelled Latif straight from the quiet garden to the Presidential Palace.
It was less a comeback story and more a carefully calculated installation.
The pattern is familiar: strong personalities are sidelined; manageable figures are elevated. Leadership, in this system, is not about merit or stature — it is about comfort. Those at the top prefer individuals who will not outshine them, not challenge them, and certainly not overshadow them. The safest choice is often the most dependent one.
Now a handwritten letter emerges from the highest office in Iraq, penned in Halabja. Instead of statesmanship, the focus shifts to spelling errors and grammatical missteps. When the presidency becomes a proofreading exercise, something deeper is exposed.
The tragedy is not the mistakes on paper. The tragedy is the standard they represent.
From retirement to the republic’s highest office — Kurdish politics continues to prove that in this region, elevators move faster than qualifications.
Author Profile
- Diyar Harki is an independent investigative journalist and human rights advocate. As a member of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), he focuses on exposing corruption and human rights abuses in Kurdistan and Iraq. He voluntarily contributes to Kurdfile Media.
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