A breakthrough in Iraq?
Iraqi politicians seem to have salvaged a power-sharing deal but the country’s political deadlock may be far from over.
Iraqi politicians appeared on Saturday to have salvaged a power-sharing deal that will give Nuri al-Maliki a second term as prime minister. This came just days after a dramatic walk-out from parliament by his former rivals.
The pact, which has looked fragile since being signed on Wednesday, has been lauded by world leaders, including Barack Obama, the US president, as a step forward in a country that has been without a new government since elections in March.
It took Iraqi politicians eight months to reach a power-sharing agreement, but less than a week to bring it to the brink of collapse. Was this just a stumbling block or is the political deadlock in Iraq far from over? How long can the Iraqi people wait for an effective governement?
Inside Story discusses with guests: Mahmoud Othman, a member of the Iraqi parliament; Muhannad al-Bayati, a member of the al-Iraqiyah coalition; and Scott Lucas, a professor of US foreign policy at Birmingham University and the editor of EnduringAmerica.com.
This episode of Inside Story aired on Saturday, November 13, 2010.