Iraq parliament gives Maliki government stamp of approval

Maliki controls three security portfolios as Iraq parliament approves interim ministers for nine cabinet posts.

Middle East Online

By Ammar Karim - BAGHDAD

Still-unfinished cabinet lineup Iraq's parliament on Tuesday gave Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government a vote of confidence and adopted a 43-point programme aimed at liberalising the economy and fighting terrorism. Parliament in separate votes gave its approval to Maliki, three deputy prime ministers and 29 other cabinet ministers, as well as the government programme, after over nine months of political deadlock and wrangling. And it approved interim ministers for the remaining nine cabinet posts, with Maliki controlling the three security portfolios. Maliki's still-unfinished cabinet lineup, comprised of candidates chosen from Iraq's fractious political blocs, is not the one he would have chosen were he free to make the decision alone, his advisor Ali Moussawi said. "The new cabinet does not represent the ambition of the prime minister; it reflects the ambition of multiple entities," Moussawi said, adding that "we hoped to form a majority government." But "the result of the election went in a way that you cannot form a majority, except for a majority of a certain sect," he said, "so we must form a government of national partnership." The results of the March 7 polls were generally split along sectarian lines, with Shiites mainly supporting Maliki's State of Law and the National Alliance, and Sunnis mostly voting for ex-premier Iyad Allawi's secular Iraqiya. "The prime minister was obliged to close his eyes to many things" in order to form a partnership government, said Moussawi. "If he had the freedom without pressure..., he would choose (ministers) on the basis of integrity, professionalism and patriotism." Some parties presented such ministers, while "others didn't, but the government must go ahead and form," he said. Khaled al-Assadi, an MP in Maliki's coalition who is seen as close to the premier, said that reservations remain over nominees for the remaining cabinet posts. "There are reservations... because some of the nominees have criminal records and some do not have the legal qualification," Assadi said. The Iraqiya bloc narrowly won the March 7 election with 91 seats in the 325-member parliament, followed by State of Law Alliance with 89. Neither was able to muster the majority needed to form a government, despite back-door negotiations with various Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs that also picked up seats, leading to more than nine months of political deadlock. But a power-sharing pact was agreed on November 10 which saw Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, being reappointed as president and Osama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni Arab, named as speaker of parliament. Talabani in turn on November 25 named Maliki for a second term as prime minister, giving him 30 days to form a government.