Muqtada Al Sadr, the kingmaker in Iraq

Muqtada Al Sadr is one of Iraq's most influential political figure and plays a key role in the country's future. Currently, he is considered the kingmaker, but it is unclear if he could form a stable government. In the recent elections, Al Sadr's party got 70 of a total of 329 seats, a significant increase compared with the result of 2018, when the movement won 54 seats.
But, despite this notable result, Muqtada Al Sadr announced that he wouldn't run for the designation as prime minister, and for a simple reason: he has always claimed to be a reformer and has supported the October Movement for months, until Iran called on him to withdraw this support. That may have cost him some followers, but for the most part, his followership is blindly loyal and truly believes in his image as a reformer. His party also uses the same strategy in its alliances: in the 2018 ballot, it allied with the Communist Party of Iraq, in order to maintain this reform title.
While his party obtained the most seats and thus the ability to form the next government, Muqtada Al Sadr still faces complex impediments, particularly ideological ones. With some Iran-backed parties, like Fatah, demanding for the vote recount, formation of a government could be a real challenge. Sadr, with his own militia, Saraya Al Salam, can fight Iran-backed units, but he has chosen to call for calm.
About the shape of the next government, one scenario is the most conceivable: Sadr will most likely need to enter, even reluctantly, into an agreement with Fatah and its partners, and there is a great chance in him to form an alliance with Nouri Al Maliki, his former political enemy.
After the US toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, Muqtada Al Sadr and his supporters opposed the intervention forces. His followers inflicted major losses on US troops and, as a result, Al Sadr became one of the most wanted men in Iraq. In recent times, he has increasingly turned against Iran's influence in Iraq, but, at present, he is yet influenced by Iran leadership from time to time, and does not seem to have a clear strategy towards Iran in the future.