BAGHDAD — Iraq’s top political leaders met together Monday for the first time since inconclusive national elections in March. But the session, held in the Kurdish north, ended with little hint that they were on the verge of forming a new government.
The meeting, which included Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his chief competitor, Ayad Allawi, amounted to an icebreaker for the leaders ahead of two more sessions scheduled for Baghdad. If the talks go well, the sides would reach agreement on a prime minister, president and speaker of parliament and start the formal process of assembling a government in a parliament session Thursday.
If they fail to strike a deal, the country’s stalemate could drag on for months.
As the politicians huddled, a series of explosions killed 28 people in the Shiite Muslim pilgrimage cities of Najaf and Karbala and the southern port city of Basra. The continued violence has only heightened Iraqis’ disenchantment with the lack of political progress.
At Monday’s 90-minute gathering, Iraqi leaders delivered speeches that politely underscored their differences. Their political blocs had been holding almost daily sessions in Baghdad to pave the way for the meetings. Despite the preparations, no one appeared ready to make significant compromises.
The Kurdistan Alliance, with at least 49 seats in the parliament, has become in effect the kingmaker. The Kurdish group has so far refused to throw its weight behind al-Maliki, a Shiite Islamist who heads a coalition holding at least 148 seats in the 325-member parliament and is closest to forming a government.
The Kurdish region’s leader, President Massoud Barzani, has refused to endorse a new government led by al-Maliki without the inclusion of Allawi’s Iraqiya list, a secular bloc heavily backed by Sunnis that won the largest single share of parliament seats.
The political stalemate has angered ordinary Iraqis who are frustrated by the continuing lack of security and basic services.
The violence Monday was alarming as it occurred in the relatively quiet Shiite south. A car bomb killed eight Iranian pilgrims in Karbala, and a second attack killed eight in Najaf. Another 12 people died in a car bomb attack in the port city of Basra, according to security sources.
