The squabbling over ministerial portfolios is a reflection of deeper rifts within Iraq, reports Mohamed Al-Anwar Though negotiations between the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) and the Kurdish parties over the formation of a new government are continuing, the first session of the Iraqi National Assembly, elected in January, will convene on 16 March. That the final shape of the government remains unclear more than a month after parliamentary elections in Iraq illustrates the depth of political tensions in a country caught in the crossfire between armed resistance groups and occupation forces. The date set for the opening of parliament typifies the standoff between the parties negotiating positions within the new government. Although they won only 75 seats in the 275-seat National Assembly, Kurdish parties remain reluctant to compromise. Concerning the opening date of parliament they have had their way: "All parties ultimately agreed [on the date] which marks the day in 1986 on which the former Iraqi regime bombarded the Kurdish town of Halabja with chemical weapons, the commemoration of which we take as an affirmation of credibility," said Kurdish leader Barham Saleh, deputy prime minister for national security affairs. The Kurds have skilfully used the bargaining power that comes with their 75 seats. On Sunday they struck a deal with the UIA naming Kurdistan Alliance leader Jalal Talabani as president. Rida Jawad Taqi, UIA leader and foreign relations officer of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution, who made the announcement, revealed that negotiations were continuing over Kurdish demands that they occupy two of the three most sensitive cabinet posts -- defence, foreign affairs and interior. He added that Sheikh Ghazi Al-Yawar, a Sunni, had agreed to accept the post of speaker of parliament after initially rejecting it and that Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shia, and Hajim Al- Hassani, a Sunni, had been named as vice- presidential candidates. The final results of all this manoeuvring will only become clear during the first session of the National Assembly, during which the prime minister will announce his cabinet in full. Between now and then any or all the names mentioned above can change. Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, for example, who controls 40 seats, still hopes that divisions within the UIA will widen sufficiently for him to lure away some members who would then support him against Ibrahim Jaafari, the UIA's candidate for prime minister. At the same time rumours are rife that Allawi may consider withdrawing his candidacy in exchange for the first vice-presidency and a security portfolio -- interior, defence or intelligence -- for a member of his list. It is a suggestion that is supported not only by the US but also by many Iraqis, who have come to view Allawi as being more competent than many of the hitherto untried candidates from religious parties. Meanwhile, Arab Sunnis, who have only 10 seats in parliament (and then only because they fielded themselves on Shia lists) remain sceptical of announcements that they will be allotted a meaningful role in drawing up the national constitution. Although Ahmed Chalabi, whose own party is part of the UIA, announced that he had entered into talks with Sunni resistance groups in order to convince them to take part in a national dialogue over the future of Iraq, most Sunnis see this as one more ploy to advance himself. However frenzied current negotiations there is the ever present danger that they could grind to a halt over the issue of Kirkuk. Barham Saleh has said that the Kurds will never drop their demand that the borders of Kurdistan be redrawn to include the oil-rich city whose Kurdish inhabitants were forcefully expelled by the previous Iraqi regime. Arabs, both Sunni and Shia, oppose the demand and have suggested the issue be decided in the National Assembly. If it gets that far, and if the Kurds show no inclination to compromise, Kirkuk will become the first test of the Iraqi parliament's abilities.
