Six months into political impasse, Iraqis say enough (News Feature)

By Kadhim al-Attabi Sep 7, 2010, 16:58 GMT

Baghdad - Iraqis say they are tired of the country's circular and inconclusive political debate and their politicians' banter, six months after Iraqis headed to the polls for the promises of a better future.

Instead, they say, the lack of services in the country is worsening and violence is spiking. Adding to those problems, no government has been formed because of a political stalemate.

'I believe the crisis of forming a government has turned into a boring drama,' said Abdel-Zahra al-Kanani, aged 52.

Others say they watch political talk shows on television as a form of comic entertainment, mostly to mock the guests. The higher ranking the politician, the better fodder he'll provide for humour.

No group won an outright majority in the March 7 election and all attempts to form a ruling coalition have since failed, as talks between the main political blocs remain in disarray amid disagreement over who should head the new cabinet.

Politicians need to 'place national interests over their own,' US Vice-President Joe Biden told Iraqi leaders during a recent trip to the country, urging them to create a government.

The election was billed as a test of the country's stability by national and international players. Now there is mounting concern that a failure to reach a coalition deal soon could unravel recent gains in curbing violence and restoring some faith in government.

One of the key issues Iraqis are concerned with, besides the repeated car bombings and sniper attacks on police, is an acute electricity shortage, which intensified as the summer temperatures rose, hitting 50 degrees in some areas, and sparking demand for air conditioners and refrigerators.

'There is chaos within the governmental institutions. Violence increased and the government's ability to solve the power crisis declined, and this hurt the people during the summer,' said al- Kanani, who himself is a civil servant.

On Tuesday, a group of civil society organizations arranged a protest at the parliament to express their exasperation with the political system.

'It was a peaceful sit-in where we carried flags and banners calling for the formation of the government,' said Zainab Qassim, an activist with the initiative.

Since the results were announced, the new parliament has held only one session, in June, which lasted just 20 minutes. That session focused only on swearing in the legislators, making them official members of the house with all relevant privileges. The meeting was then adjourned.

An attempt to hold a second session in late July failed and there has been no word yet of a third try.

Political tensions have followed the elections for the 325-member parliament. Violence has hit levels not seen since 2008. Over 525 people were killed in August alone.

Former prime minister Iyad Allawi's secular Iraqiya List won 91 seats, compared to 89 for the State of Law coalition, led by incumbent premier Nuri al-Maliki. A Shiite coalition, which included the anti-American Sadrist trend, came in third, snatching 70 seats.

The two largest parties have traded barbs in the heated, but ineffective debate, which at one point deteriorated to sectarian slurs in a country which has seen intense internecine violence between ethnic and religious groups.

'Iraqi politicians are far from the Iraqi street and do not respond to the needs of the citizens, who endure this frustrating environment,' said Maguid Kadhim, a news agent in Baghdad.

'I am surprised by how political leaders no longer care about the calls of the supreme Shiite cleric that warn against the dangers of Iraqis growing impatience with the political impasse,' he added, revealing his religious, but not political, affiliation.

Shiite clerics, confidants of the revered religious leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, have been issuing such messages every week in the main Friday prayers.

But they have largely refused to step into the arena and voice their preferences, leaving that matter to the politicians.

The religious leaders urged a solution, saying the country's prolonged political stalemate could prompt suffering people to turn violent.

The warnings have been increasing since July, when two people died in a protest against waves of power cuts, which can last for up to 20 hours a day in some areas.

'Iraqi people voted in large numbers.... they expect a government that reflects the votes they cast,' Biden said during his trip.

Al-Kanani, the civil servant, thinks along the same lines, saying 'the blocs did not respect the will of the voters' when they failed to form a government and move the country forward.