Prepare to Look On In Horror

Can a prime minister who was kidnapped and then released "get a grip" on things in his festering hellhole of a de facto failed state? This Financial Times editorial posits that as a possibility:

Having engineered the overthrow of Gaddafi, the west should not turn its back. Self-interest dictates that there should be continued engagement. The raid that scooped up Mr al-Liby illustrates the risk of allowing Libya to become an ungoverned space, another bolt-hole for al-Qaeda in the Maghreb. Few want Libya to contribute further to the huge flow of refugees trying to reach Europe. The migrant boat that sank last week south of Italy came from Misrata on the Libyan coast. 

However, the wider world cannot fix all of Libya’s ills. Ultimately, Mr Zeidan must get a grip on his country’s destiny. The prime minister has been too willing to buy off the warring militias with western cash rather than using these subsidies as a lever to place them under government control. Unless he gets a grip, the west can only look on in horror as Libya joins the dismal ranks of failed states.