By Assad Abboud

Source: Agence France Presse (AFP)

September 7, 2010

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has the backing of Washington and US arch-foe Iran to keep his job, six months after he narrowly lost an election to ex-premier Iyad Allawi, politicians said Tuesday.

The United States has consistently denied having any favoured candidate for the premiership but amid growing impatience for a new government in Baghdad it now sees Maliki as the conflict-wracked country’s only viable leader.

A grave fear that Allawi will “re-Baathify” Iraq, bringing former allies of Saddam Hussein back to power, has also led its Shiite parties, with close ties to Iran, to accept Maliki, despite scepticism about his character and ability.

Maliki’s State of Law Alliance, a Shiite grouping, gained two fewer seats in the election than Iraqiya, a broadly secular coalition with strong Sunni backing led by Allawi, a Shiite.

But neither man has managed to gain a working parliamentary majority despite months of coalition negotiations, leaving the nation’s politics in limbo amid growing public frustration at the lack of progress.

There have been 56 national elections or referendums worldwide, according to IFES (the International Foundation for Electoral Systems), since Iraqis voted in the parliamentary poll on March 7.

The impasse has led US officials, anxious to avoid further delays that could potentially cause Iraq’s fledgling democracy to unravel, to seek a Maliki-led government that gives a prominent role to Allawi.

A senior State of Law official said Maliki received assurances during US Vice President Joe Biden’s recent visit that major neighbouring Arab countries, except Saudi Arabia, had decided to stop backing Allawi’s premiership hopes.

“Maliki was quoting Biden as saying, ‘Iraqiya has many problems and complexities… I told Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar and United Arab Emirates to end their support for Allawi,’” the official said Biden told Maliki.

“‘They were all convinced except Saudi Arabia,’” he quoted the vice president as saying.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday ended a visit to Qatar, after which its emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, travelled to Saudi Arabia, reputedly carrying a message to ask the kingdom to end its support for Allawi.

The complex arithmetic of securing 163 seats for a parliamentary majority, and the cabinet posts that will follow as a result, has also left Iraq’s Kurds and the ultra-Shiite Sadrist bloc willing to accept Maliki.

Kurdish regional president Massud Barzani “informed Allawi of his support for Maliki,” the State of Law official said, in a move that would deprive Allawi of the Kurdish bloc’s 57 seats, making it impossible for him to secure a majority.

The Sadrists, who have previously voiced stern objections to Maliki serving a second term, also appear to have been appeased.

“We will deal with Nuri al-Maliki as prime minister if he wins the position in the government for the second time,” prominent Sadrist MP Bahaa al-Aaraji told AFP.

“The problem of the Sadr movement with Maliki was not personal, but relates to his poor performance during the past four years.”

The United States and other Western nations have consistently said since the election that they have no preference on who becomes prime minister.

But in recent months their delicate diplomatic dance has led to Maliki.

“He is well aware that he is not a shoo-in to be prime minister… but he is reaching out,” said a Western diplomat, appearing to concede that Maliki had US support and referring to the incumbent’s willingness to try and build bridges with rival blocs.

But he added: “We would like to see an important role for Iyad Allawi… he is a very competent guy and people like that are rare anywhere.”

Allawi, however, still appears reluctant to accept anything less than the top job, according to the Western official.

“Right now his primary interest is in becoming prime minister,” he said, noting that the US had great respect for Allawi but cautioning that Iraq’s complex mix of Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish interests had worked against him.

“There are some people who remember his service to his country, but those same people cannot see any likely scenario” where he would become premier, the official added.