Iraq’s Prime Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, could be stepping down.
While some leaders said that Mr. Jaafari’s move could lead to an end to the political impasse, expressions of optimism by the same officials in the past four months have proven to be premature, and many details remain to be worked out concerning other posts.
But the fight over the choice of a new prime minister has been the biggest stumbling block. Despite strong opposition from Sunnis, Kurds and some secular Shiites, Mr. Jaafari had refused as recently as Wednesday to even consider stepping down.
Then today, with pressure building from within his own Shiite political alliance as well as from American officials, Mr. Jaafari released a letter stating that he would quit if Shiite officials now “deem appropriate” another candidate.
So, does this put Iraq back on track towards a real democracy? Or is this merely a distraction, which will ultimately mean nothing? The answer won’t be clear for a while since Jaafari’s successor is likely to be somebody from his own party….
Shiite leaders are “highly likely” to choose another candidate for prime minister in the next few days, a senior Shiite alliance official said this afternoon. The candidate may come from Mr. Jaafari’s Islamic Dawa Party, the official said. “There are many stories circulating and the field is opening up, but it will still likely be someone from Dawa,” he said.
And the likely new PM?
At a press conference in Baghdad before the session of Parliament was canceled, a senior Shiite political leader, Jawad al-Maliki, said Mr. Jaafari had decided to leave it up to the Shiite alliance to make a “suitable decision” about who should be prime minister.
Mr. Maliki, a Dawa deputy, has been mentioned as a possible second choice.
Obviously it’s too soon to tell what’s going to happen, but I certainly hope this means more good news in the future.