Read in
Politicians and observers believe that the Iraqi electorate punished the head of the central government in the recent provincial elections. This is because his economic policies, particularly on the provision of services and improving standards of living, have failed.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition lost control of most of the provincial governments that it won four years ago. Chief among these is the Baghdad provincial government — the country's political capital — and that of Basra — Iraq’s economic capital.
