After losing the 2010 parliamentary election, it took most of the year for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to cobble together a majority coalition. But having never followed through on power-sharing promises with the other major blocs, that coalition has collapsed.
First out was the Iraqiya bloc, which actually holds the largest plurality in parliament. Their withdrawal, which came hot on the heels of the detention of Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, was followed by both the ruling Kurdistan Alliance and its rival, the Goran Bloc.
Maliki is so far shrugging off the move, despite it costing him his majority, and he shows no signs of leaving power, insisting that he will not agree to any negotiation and demanding his rivals “abide by the national standards.”
But that isn’t stopping the Iraqiya bloc from moving forward with its own effort to form a majority government in parliament, with MPs saying that the secular bloc has gained considerable support. Whether or not they can do so is unclear, but it seems clear that Maliki will not have his own majority.
Not a problem.
It is guaranteed that oil production will NOT be disrupted, regartdless of Who is running the government.
That's all that matters to the people responsible for and most benefitting from The Invasion, "Liberation," and Occupation of Iraq.
Say…… "Invasion, Liberation, Occupation"….. "I…L…O"….. gee, what a funny acronym…..
…..ILO…IOL…LOI…LIO…OLI……… O…I…L…. OMG!!!!!
OIL !!!!!! as in OPERATION IRAQI LIBERATION!!!!
Let's see…… how would that work when you substitute "Iran" or "Iranian" for "Iraq" or "Iraqi"…?
hmmmmmmmm…..
No suprise here. Iraq was never a democracy. In any usual parlimentary democracy if a bloc leaves the ruling coalition, the government collapses and new elections are held. However since Maliki controls much of the press and all of the military, he is not likely to fall.
What is worse is the US government and US propaganda media continue to call Iraq a "democracy." In reality the US just replaced a Sunni dictator with a Shia one. It is truly shameful the way the current administration tried to give a fig leaf to the disaster that was the Iraq war.
An interesting challenge for parliamentary democracy. What happens when the "Prime Minister", having lost his majority, simply refuses to relinquish the government?
It's called dictatorship, and Iraq seems a hairs-breadth away from it now.
Oil is important and foreign powers will continue to divide and rule.
I bet Maliki thinks that his old buddy Obama is going to rush back in and prop up his collapsing rule. Going to be a real surprise when Obama sends his get well wishes and naught else. Besides, as pointed out above, the oil will continue to flow no matter who sits in the palace.
I wonder how long before they fish Maliki out of the Tigris…