BAGHDAD – Iraq’s president has formally asked prime minister Nuri al-Maliki to form a new government, giving him 30 days to choose a cabinet from among Iraq’s fractious Shia, Kurdish and Sunni political factions.
The request yesterday from President Jalal Talabani came two weeks after political leaders reached an agreement to divide up the top government jobs, a deal that put Mr Maliki, a Shia, on track for a second term as premier.
The power-sharing pact, more than eight months after an inconclusive parliamentary election, offered some hope that Iraq could avoid a return to the sectarian warfare that killed tens of thousands of people at its peak in 2006-07.
Among Mr Maliki’s biggest decisions are his choices to head the oil and finance ministries. Iraq is trying to rebuild its battered infrastructure and sagging oil industry after years of war, international economic sanctions and neglect. It depends on oil revenues for about 95 per cent of its federal budget.
The oil ministry, which has signed a raft of deals with global petroleum companies in the past year in a bid to bring Iraq back into the top echelon of producers, is led by Hussain al-Shahristani, a close Maliki ally and a leader in his newly formed National Alliance.
“All ministries are important, but the National Alliance is interested in getting the oil ministry, then the finance ministry,” a senior politician in the coalition said.
Mr Maliki’s government is still fighting a weakened but still lethal Sunni Islamist insurgency. Bombings and other attacks have fallen significantly in frequency from the height of the sectarian slaughter, but still occur daily. The long political impasse caused concerns about increased violence from militants trying to take advantage of a power vacuum. – (Reuters)