Baghdad: Iraq's president on Thursday asked incumbent Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki to form a new government, part of a deal to end an eight-month deadlock over who would lead the country through the next four years, including the departure of the final American troops.
The long-awaited request from President Jalal Talabani sets into motion a 30-day timeline to accomplish the daunting task of finding a team that includes all of Iraq's rival factions.
"I know and you know well that the responsibility I am undertaking is not an easy task, especially in the current circumstances that our country is passing through," Al Maliki said after accepting Talabani's request.
Show of unity
The new government is expected to include all the major factions, including the Kurds, Shiite political parties aligned with Iran and a Sunni-backed bloc that believes it should have been the one leading the next government.
Many of the politicians were in the room with Al Maliki and Talabani when the announcement was made in a show of unity that belies the country's often divisive politics.
Al Maliki, a contentious figure in Iraqi politics who rose from obscurity to lead the government in 2006, called upon Iraqis and fellow politicians — many of whom view him with distrust and animosity — to support him in the task ahead.
"I call upon the great Iraqi people in all its sects, religions and ethnicities and I call upon my brothers the politicians to work to overcome all differences and to put these differences behind us," said the prime minister designate. Al Maliki will have to find substantial roles for all of those factions or risk having them leave his government, a destabilising blow for Iraq's fragile democracy that is struggling to overcome years of violence and economic sanctions.
Extra time
The president's request Thursday was largely a formality, coming after Talabani was elected on November 11 and at the time publicly asked Al Maliki to form the next government. Talabani then had 15 days in which to formally extend the offer, giving Al Maliki some extra time to work out the details.
The announcement underscores what has been a stunning comeback for Al Maliki, whose State of Law coalition came in second in the March 7 elections to the Sunni-backed bloc led by former prime minister Eyad Allawi. But neither gained the 163-seat majority necessary to form a government.
Have your say
Do you think Al Maliki's new government will bring stability to Iraq? What steps does Al Maliki need to take to improve Iraq's situation?
