BLOOMBERG NEWS!! Al-Maliki Presents Partial Lineup to Create Iraqi National Unity Cabinet

[tbush]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-20/maliki-may-announce-partial-iraqi-cabinet-excluding-security-portfolios.html

Al-Maliki Presents Partial Lineup to Create Iraqi National Unity Cabinet

By Nayla Razzouk and Kadhim Ajrash - Dec 20, 2010 10:59 AM CT inShareMore

Business Exchange Buzz up! Digg Print Email Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki submitted a partial lineup of nominees for a national-unity cabinet to the parliament speaker, eight months after elections.

Lawmakers will vote on the choices in a session starting tomorrow at 2 p.m. Baghdad time, Speaker Usama al-Nujaifi said in a joint news conference in the capital with the prime minister after al-Maliki presented the list to him today.

Al-Maliki said the names will be disclosed by parliament tomorrow. He will keep the security portfolios of defense, interior and national security for himself until a deal is reached with other political groups, the government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, said earlier today in a phone interview. Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari will remain in the posts, al-Dabbagh said.

Political paralysis and disputes followed the March 7 parliamentary vote, which produced no clear winner. A new government would begin to take office as the U.S. prepares to pull out its remaining troops by the end of 2011. The Iraqi leadership will have to deal with violence, a struggling economy and long-standing disputes over internal boundaries and rights to the country’s oil and gas reserves.

Disagreements about the distribution of posts have been holding up completion of the nominations, said Hussein al- Assadi, a lawmaker in al-Maliki’s group.

The positions that have been decided on comprise more than half the cabinet, said Sherwan al-Waili, national security minister and a member of al-Maliki’s parliamentary bloc.

Al-Shahristani, Zebari

Discussions are continuing on whether al-Shahristani should be given the job of deputy prime minister for energy affairs instead of keeping the Oil Ministry role, said Abdul Hadi al- Hassani, a member of al-Maliki’s bloc. Zebari was chosen to retain the Foreign Ministry because he “has proven to be very successful and he is the sole candidate to the position as presented by the Kurdish coalition,” he said.

Under the constitution, al-Maliki had 30 days in which to name a cabinet after being asked to form a government for his second term in office by President Jalal Talabani on Nov. 25.

Al-Maliki had pledged to form his government by Dec. 15. The Shiite Muslim prime minister’s delay in announcing the cabinet reflects difficulties in creating a government that includes all of Iraq’s ethnic and religious groups.

‘Ideological Loggerheads’

“The diverse nature of the new government almost guarantees that it will fail,” the London-based Control Risks Group said in a report before the positions were announced. “The various component parties remain at ideological loggerheads with one another and are unlikely to be able to unite sufficiently to work together.”

The inclusion in the government of the Iraqiyah bloc led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, which was backed mostly by Sunni Muslim and secular voters, bodes well for short-term stability, according to Control Risks.

Allawi had threatened several times not to participate in a al-Maliki-led government, claiming the premier had stolen the elections. As part of the coalition deal, Allawi was named to head the new National Council for Strategic Policies.

Maliki’s State of Law alliance won 89 seats in the March elections, while Iraqiyah secured 91 seats and Kurdish parties took 43. State of Law merged with former Shiite rivals afterward to form the Iraqi National Alliance, gaining a combined total of 159 seats, and was later able to draw in lawmakers from other groups to get the 163 seats needed for a governing coalition in the 325-seat parliament.

[unclegeek]

i don't think this will go. I can't see everyone else letting him have the minister positions for himself. I want rv too...got my house picked out, but I don't see the thing without those 3 positions bieng filled. I could be wrong.

[hellahung]

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki submitted a partial lineup of nominees for a national-unity cabinet to the parliament speaker, eight months after elections.

Partial??? When do we get ALL of them??

[djuggler]

Hummm March 7th to December 20 is 8 months, they say??????? Ughhhhhhhh! Sorry, I don't think soooooooo.

[muchodinaro]

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki submitted a partial lineup of nominees for a national-unity cabinet to the parliament speaker, eight months after elections.

Partial??? When do we get ALL of them??

Before Saturday.

[ctoddy]

The PM can hold those spots according to the constitution as an interim kind of thing. I don't see this as a hang up.

[JCOUTEE]

The PM can hold those spots according to the constitution as an interim kind of thing. I don't see this as a hang up.

I agree with him !

[detroitjazzman]

The PM can hold those spots according to the constitution as an interim kind of thing. I don't see this as a hang up.

Im inclined to agree with you, however, ifthis is constitutional, it could prove to be a smart move on M's part. This move I think would remove the perceived leverage others may have by threatning to bring the process to a halt. Guess we still have time to order a few more "D's"