By Sami Zaptia
Tripoli, 22 August 2013:
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan reacted robustly on Tuesday when a GNC member questioned his Libyan-ness.
Zeidan was summoned by . . .[restrict]the GNC, together with a number of his Ministers, to defend the performance of his government and in particular to reply to allegations by his former Interior Minister, Mohamed Sheikh, that he was dictatorial in his running of his government.
Zeidan was also answering questions about security and Sheikh’s accusation that he was delaying the building of the army and police.
Whilst Zeidan still retains the confidence of the majority of the GNC, there is no doubt that there is a core minority who are eager to dismiss him.
One such GNC member attacked Zeidan on suspicion that he may hold dual nationality – a technicality that would force Zeidan to resign. Zeidan had lived a long time in political exile in Germany during the Qaddafi years.
In response to GNC members who wish to correspond with the German Foreign Ministry to make sure that Prime Minister Ali Zeidan does not hold German citizenship, Zeidan said that he had answered this question in previous sessions and that his answer was present and recorded.
“I am Ali Zeidan, an authentic Libyan, and if you are not sure of your Prime Minister, please let me know if you decide to correspond (with the German Foreign Ministry) in order to preserve the image of the Libyan state and its government in front of the world”, he concluded. [/restrict]
