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Talabani, Maliki discuss forming govt.
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani discussed during a meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Saturday means to form a new government, according to an official source.
This should just about do it. Maliki has been maneuvering to give himself the largest bloc, and if the Kurds throw in with him he's got a majority no matter what Allawi does.
“Talabani and Maliki discussed the current situation in the country, means to form a new government and the relevant activities among political blocs to reach an agreement,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The two sides co-stressed respect for the constitution and how to reach a solution to the nation’s current political crisis,” he added, not giving more information.

Parliamentary elections in Iraq, held on March 7, 2010, had created large-scale differences among politicians over the bloc that is entitled to form a new government after former Premier Iyad Allawi’s al-Iraqiya bloc won 91 seats, followed by Maliki’s Dawlat al-Qanoon (State of Law) bloc with 89 seats out of a total 325 seats in the Iraqi parliament.

Maliki’s bloc reached a coalition with the Iraqi National Alliance (INA), which won 70 seats, in a bid to form the largest bloc in parliament, a move that was vehemently opposed by al-Iraqiya on the grounds that the latter enjoys the right to form a government.
Posted by: Steve White 2010-07-18
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=301266