Future of Iraqi government at stake as blocs withdraw -dpa

Middle East Features

By Pakinam Amer
Sep 17, 2007, 15:35 GMT

Cairo - Politicians and observers in Iraq have expressed concern over the withdrawal of major blocs from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's ruling coalition.

Growing tension between various factions and the shifting political landscape has prompted questions about the future of the precarious government.

Reports on Monday said that some blocs are already negotiationg new alliances in Iraq's Council of Representatives which may be opposed to the government.

The political force loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr quit al-Maliki's governing Shiite alliance leaving 30 seats empty, on Sunday, after a boycott lasting months.

The Iraqi Accord Front, the largest Sunni party, has already withdrawn and other Shiite and secular factions have boycotted recent sessions and voted only on legislation.

Both the ruling alliance and President Jalal Talabani's office issued statements Monday urging the Sadrists to reconsider their decision and return to government. The ruling United Iraqi Alliance described the move as shocking.

Some members of the ruling alliance have denied that the government is threatened. Sadr MPs have shown little or no activity for many months, they said.

The Sadrists however claim they were intentionally marginalized. The Sadr camp was not included in discussions on key legislation like the debated oil and gas draft law.

They were also shunned from talks on de-Baathification policies which might lead to the return of loyalists to former dictator Saddam Hussein 'whose hands were not stained with Iraqi blood', according to a-Maliki, to government jobs.

Ruling party moderates nevertheless formed a special council to negotiate with the dissident Sadrists to tackle the core issues of conflict, according to the United Iraqi Alliance.

But the Sadrists insist that their decision is both final and consequential. Asmaa al-Mussawy, a leading member of the Sadr camp, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that 'there is no going back.'

The leaders of the Sadr bloc have claimed that MPs belonging to al-Maliki's Daawa party might quit the ruling coalition and join the Sadr camp.

The Islamic Daawa party is an Iraqi conservative party, and along with the Supreme Islamic Iraqi council, forms the bulk of the ruling Shiite coalition known as the United Iraqi Alliance.

The alliance has 128 of the Council of Representative's 275 seats of which Daawa occupies 13.

'The Daawa party, the (Sunni) Iraqi Accord Front, the (Shiite) al- Fadila, the National Dialogue Front are all engaged in dialogue with the Sadr for a new political programme that we cannot publicize at the moment,' said al-Mussawy on Monday.

'These are all parties who could very well forge an alliance with the Sadr, but nothing is final yet,' the Sadrist added.

Abdel-Karim al-Anzy, Daawa's chief in Iraq, confirmed talks with Sadrists and a possible withdrawal.

Observers say these alliances, if created, could herald the collapse of al-Maliki's cabinet.

But even lawmakers are divided on whether al-Maliki's cabinet and the ruling coalition would be weakened by the withdrawal of major blocs - mainly Sunnis and the Shiite Sadr camp- as al-Maliki still enjoys a legitimate albeit thin majority in parliament.

Even if new alliances are formed, al-Maliki would still be able to secure the passage of controversial laws, if he guarantees the allegiance of the Kurdistani Alliance with 53 seats in the Council of Representatives, according to local analysts.

Sadrists have so far ruled out the possibility of a no-confidence vote to bring down the government.

But the government has already been dealt a blow, according to observers. Sadr's withdrawal, coupled with the failure of al-Maliki to reconcile with Sunnis and other opposing parties, caused a split in Daawa party ranks.

Daawa's Al-Anzy described the Sadr departure as a 'hard blow' adding to Voices of Iraq news agency's comments that al-Maliki had begun aggravating rifts within his own party when he signed agreements with Shiite and Kurdish bigwigs while disregarding Sadrists and Sunnis.

Despite the hustle and bustle, some politicians refuse to take the moves of the Sadr bloc seriously.

The Shiite camp have a history of repeated threats, withdrawal and return to parliament.

Last year, Sadrists froze their membership in parliament after loud and angry anti-government protests. But they returned as soon as some of their demands had been met.

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
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