When I met Libya’s interim Prime Minister Abdurrahim al-Keib late last year in the plush Tripoli offices once occupied by Muammar Qadhafi’s loyal ministers, he was in an optimistic mood. After spending most of the last four decades in exile, the 61-year-old electrical engineering professor was back in Tripoli, and charged with readying his country for its democratic rebirth. He was eager for elections to happen as soon as possible. After 42 years of Qadhafi dictatorship, he said, “Libya will respond well to good governance.” But whether he will get the chance to test that claim is doubtful to say the least. The challenge facing Keib and his cabinet of technocrats and former rebel commanders is enormous, and it is difficult to see how Libya can meet its self-imposed timetable for democratic transition. On top of that, there are now serious questions being asked of the authority and credibility of
