Jaafari allies defy calls for him to quit

Allies of Ibrahim al-Jaafari on Thursday rejected a push by Iraq’s other main political blocs to replace him as prime minister, deepening the country’s political crisis as continued violence kept sectarian tensions high.

The latest crisis will make it even more difficult for the UIA to find the allies needed to form any government. Mr Jaafari’s opponents say that if the UIA does not put forward another candidate, they will choose their own.

But they will need Shia support to achieve a two-thirds majority, and UIA members will be reluctant to risk the accusation that they betrayed Shia unity at a time when sectarian tensions are riding high after last week’s destruction of the al-Askariya shrine, one of Shia Islam’s most sacred sites, in a bomb attack that sparked further sectarian attacks.

Many are also worried about the influence and reaction of the radical Sadrist movement, led by the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose support was crucial to Mr Jaafari in an internal contest in which he defeated challenger Adel Abd al-Mahdi of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq by a single vote.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/fb2d7f86-aa1d-11da-96ea-0000779e2340.html

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