Baghdad, Iraq – Iraq’s incoming prime minister said Wednesday that he will unveil his Cabinet to parliament this weekend, the first sign that the country may finally be moving ahead with a national unity government after weeks of wrangling.
There are hopes that sharing power successfully will help heal the sectarian rift underlying the relentless wave of violence that has swept Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion three years ago and open the way for American troops to begin returning home.
But talks were still underway on choices to head the critical ministries of interior and defense, which control the police and army, respectively.
Without an eventual agreement, no resolution is possible of the basic conflict between Shiites and Sunni Arabs.
A spokesman for Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki said he would present the Cabinet at a parliament session Saturday with or without a decision on those two posts.
“The government is almost completed. Only the interior and defense ministries remain,” said the spokesman, Salah Abdul-Razaq. “If an agreement is not reached, the announcement will be made without these posts.”
He did not elaborate, but his remarks suggested that al-Maliki, a Shiite, would appoint himself to head the two ministries until all parties agreed on the two appointees.
Saturday would be two days ahead of a 30-day deadline for al-Maliki to present a Cabinet, and it was unlikely that he would present a deal for parliament to vote down.
Parliament, officially the Council of Representatives, must approve each proposed minister by an absolute majority of all 275 members. That means not simply a majority of the members who show up for the session.
If the prime minister fails to win approval of his Cabinet, President Jalal Talabani has 15 days to designate another nominee, who will then have 30 days to form a Cabinet.
The two main Sunni Arab factions, which hold 55 seats in parliament, had demanded they either be given or be allowed to appoint the defense minister. In return, the dominant Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, with 130 seats, would get the Interior Ministry.
