Talks on new Iraq government remain deadlocked (News Feature)

By Kadhim al-Attabi Jul 24, 2010, 16:24 GMT

Baghdad - Talks between Iraq's political blocs on forming a new government remain bogged down four months after Inconclusive parliamentary elections seen as a test of the country's stability.

Senior officials close to the two main blocs say both are unwilling to compromise on their demand that they alone have the right to form the new government.

'All meetings that the Iraqiya List held with the different blocs were positive and useful, but we did not reach tangible results to resolve the outstanding issues,' lawmaker Hussein al-Shaalan told the German Press Agency dpa.

Several meetings between Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his main rival, former premier Iyad Allawi, failed to resolve their differences over who should fill the three top posts in the government: the prime minister, president and speaker of parliament.

Political tensions have followed the outcome of the March 7 elections for the 325-member parliament in which Allawi's Iraqiya List won 91 seats, compared to 89 for al-Maliki's State of Law coalition.

Both Allawi and al-Maliki are competing to head the future government. Allawi insists he should be in charge because his bloc won the highest number of seats.

But al-Maliki says he has the largest bloc in parliament with 159 deputies, after forming the National Alliance with Ammar al- Hakim's Iraqi National List (INA). That total, however, is still four seats short of a majority.

Though parliamentary candidates in the Shitte-dominated National Alliance want the prime minister to come from their ranks, some are opposed to al-Maliki becoming head of government.

'We do not mind an independent nominee from outside the National Alliance, but this has been rejected by the State of Law which will not accept a nominee other than al-Maliki,' said Qassim al-Araji, a National List lawmaker.

The stalemate means there is little hope of resolving the crisis before the end of July, which is the deadline specified for reconvening parliament.

Deputies held their first meeting in June, but it was adjourned after only 20 minutes and they have not met since. A new session was postponed earlier this month.

Lawmaker Latif Moustafa, whose Kurdish Alliance has 43 seats, said he didn't think it would be worthwhile for parliament to reconvene if there was no chance of an agreement.

Reports in Iraqi media suggested Friday that the heads of the two rival parliamentary blocs might share power, as political tension continues.

These reports came after Allawi, seen as a pro-western secular leader, met with Iranian-backed Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr in Damascus. The meeting was the first ever between Allawi and al-Sadr, whose bloc is part of the INA.

An alliance between the two could pave the path for Allawi to become the next prime minister.

Sadrist politicians, who won 40 of the INA's seats, have previously expressed reservations about a government led by Allawi, who presided over a joint US-Iraqi military campaign against them when he was prime minister in 2004.