Allawi’s Bloc Considers Strategy for Iraqi Elections
Ayad Allawi’s bloc, al-Iraqiya, issued a terse statement criticizing the Iraqi government and calling for a review of its own relationships with other Iraqi political parties, writes Ali Abel Sadah.
The Iraqiya List coalition, which is led by secular former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, is trying to regroup its scattered strength. It recently announced that it will review its relationship with other political forces.
Iraqiya’s members met in the presence of Allawi and Al-Monitor obtained a copy of the statement they issued after the meeting. The statement said that during the meeting, Allawi spoke about the repercussions of the protests in Anbar, Tikrit and Mosul. Allawi discussed with the members of the bloc the position of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government on the protests.
This is one of the few times that Allawi has met with his bloc since the 2010 elections crisis, when he failed to be elected prime minister. Since then, he has become less active, moving between Baghdad and London. The bloc’s internal matters were left to some of its Sunni members, among them Vice President Saleh al-Mutlaq and Parliament Speaker Osama al-Najaifi, who is considered the de facto leader of the Iraqiya bloc.
Washington helped Iyad Allawi become the first interim Iraqi prime minister after Saddam Hussein. He began his political career in the Baath party before breaking off his relationship with it. He earned a reputation as a strong leader in the face of the Sunni and Shiite rebellions in 2004.
