Oil investors are getting increasingly jittery about Libya’s slide into chaos. None has exited in the last month or so, but they are closely monitoring events, especially the potential impact of a new law passed on 6 May banning any senior official under the Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi regime from holding a position in the new post-revolutionary government. This, they argue, could, if implemented, give a mandate for the wholesale destruction of governance and professionalism.
Much remains unclear, including the definition of “senior official.” Theoretically this could include Prime Minister ‘Ali Zidan, a diplomat before he defected in 1980. It would certainly cover large swathes of Libya’s current oil leadership. But for the moment rational arguments are falling on deaf ears and it is the militias who dictate policy. (CONTINUED - 725 WORDS)
