The leaders of two rival political alliances battling to run Iraq's new government took a step toward ending their power dispute, as the Sunni-backed coalition that won March elections now faces being sidelined in Parliament.
The 90-minute meeting between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the former Premier, Ayad Allawi, was their first since the March 7 vote, and was described by aides as more of an icebreaker than the start of serious negotiations.
Narrow lead
The secular but Sunni-dominated Iraqiya coalition that Mr. Allawi heads risks losing a grasp on its narrow electoral triumph due to infighting and outmanoeuvring by Mr. Al-Maliki and his fellow Shia rivals. As the new legislature convenes on Monday, that prospect is serving as a lesson in Iraq's nascent democracy, where rules can bend.
It also, more ominously, raises the possibility of a revitalised militancy if Sunnis conclude that they have no place in government as U.S. troops pull out of Iraq.
Iraqiya alliance is struggling to capture key government posts — a task that should have been all but certain after it took more than a quarter of Parliament's 325 seats in the vote.
Iraqiya won 91 seats, two more than its closest rival. But Mr. Allawi, a secular Shia, has little if any chance to reclaim the Prime Minister's job he held in 2004-05, and risks top Cabinet positions for Sunni allies if he insists on it, according to Iraqi officials close to ongoing negotiations.
