Jaafari will withdraw as Shia candidate if asked

IRAQ: Iraq's transitional prime minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, has offered to withdraw as the Shia candidate to head the new government if this was what people ask him to do.

However, he did not make it clear yesterday whether he meant the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shia religious coalition, or the Iraqi people as a whole.

Under the constitution, the largest parliamentary bloc has the right to nominate the prime minister. The alliance, with 130 seats in the 275-member assembly, has remained solidly behind Dr Jaafari. The bloc's largest faction headed by the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is Dr Jaafari's strongest advocate.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has called upon Shias to remain united in the face of pressure to force Dr Jaafari to step down.

Hawalati, a Kurdish newspaper, reported on Wednesday that Tehran was exercising its influence with President Jalal Talabani, a long-standing client of Iran, and Massoud Barzani, the other senior Kurdish figure, to accept Dr Jaafari.

Hawalati says Kurds in Baghdad have received threats from Shia militias that they would have to leave their homes if their leaders did not shift their stance on Dr Jaafari. Mr Talabani has been his most vocal opponent.

Dr Jaafari advocates a strong central government while the Kurds seek a weak centre and strong regions in charge of their natural resources. He has also frustrated the Kurdish drive to settle Kurds in Kirkuk to justify its annexation by the northern Kurdish region.

Sunnis and secularists also reject Dr Jaafari whom they blame for the worsening security situation, rising sectarianism and the lack of electricity, water and jobs. The US has weighed in on the side of his critics.

Iraqi analysts predict that the wrangling over the post of prime minister will be succeeded by squabbling over other senior posts, drawing out the formation of the cabinet for months when the country needs a national unity government.

In an editorial in Iraqi daily Azzaman, Fatih Abdulsalam complained: "Iraqi politicians are apparently unconcerned with the current turmoil in the country. They are more concerned with the turmoil in their own ranks; and let the country go to hell.

"Instead of focusing on threats to the country, our politicians are busy conspiring against each other, attacking each other, and undermining each other . . . bringing the country closer to full-scale sectarian war."