One step separates Jaafar al-Sadr from premiership, Shiite CF says
Shafaq News/ A leading figure of the Coordination Framework (CF) said that the Shiite consortium has a single condition to endorse Jaafar al-Sadr's bids for premiership.
Lawmaker A'ed al-Hilala said in a statement to Shafaq News Agency, "the agreement over Jaafar al-Sadr's candidature will not materialize prior to announcing the largest bloc that brings together the Sadrist movement and the Coordination Framework."
"Jaafar al-Sadr is a top runner-up for the post, but he is not the only one. Some other candidates are vying for it. The only way to settle it is via the largest bloc. Therefore, the prime minister-designate cannot be named prior to announcing the largest bloc," he concluded.
Already the biggest in the October 10 election, the bloc of the firebrand Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, has been mobilizing impetus behind a "National Majority Government", challenging the status quo "consensus governments", the forces of the Shiite Coordination Framework have been lobbying for.
al-Sadr has said he will ally himself with whoever puts Iraq's national interests first. That is an indication that he may exclude some Iran-backed Shiite blocs in favor of parties with cross-sectarian support.
Later, al-Sadr demonstrated a less defiant tone against the Coordination Framework parties but maintained a hardcore position from the head of the State of Law Coalition, Nouri al-Maliki.
The long-running dispute between al-Sadr and al-Maliki is one of the main obstacles to any deal that might resolve the situation in Iraq, as the former blames the latter for the endemic corruption and security failure during his two consecutive terms as a Prime Minister. Their enmity dates back to 2008, when al-Maliki launched a military operation against al-Mahdi Army, the disbanded militia formerly led by al-Sadr.
However, after months of deadlock over who will hold the position of Iraq's president and prime minister in a laborious process towards government formation, an agreement finally seems possible, and perhaps even likely, after a brief phone call between al-Sadr and al-Maliki.
