Compromised Hamdok battles to save Sudan's political transition

FILE PHOTO: Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok addresses the media at the Chancellery in Berlin during an official visit to Germany, February 14, 2020. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke//File Photo

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, reinstated after a coup, must now pull off a political juggling act if he is to realise his ambition of forming a government to secure a civilian foothold in his country's turbulent transition away from autocracy.

To salvage the transition - as well as his reputation - the softly spoken economist needs to establish his independence from a military leadership that placed him under house arrest and detained some of his former cabinet for several weeks before striking a deal last month for his return.