President's Absence Complicates Iraqi Politics
As Iraqi President Jalal Talabani continues to undergo treatment in Berlin, Iraqi leaders are indecisive on how to proceed in his absence, writes Ali Abel Sadah.
Five months have passed and Iraq is still without a head of state. The president [Jalal Talabani], who is ill and has been undergoing treatment in the German capital of Berlin, is turning out to be quite the mystery in Iraqi politics at present.
The sole source entitled to speak about his health condition is Najmeddine Karim, the Kurdish governor of the city of Kirkuk and head of the medical team supervising the health of Talabani, who is also a leading Kurdish politician. Yet, Karim does not utter a word that might let the public know what is going on in the treatment room in Berlin. He is simply using a few tactful terms such as “the president is getting better" and "the president has started to become aware of what’s going on around him, and is talking to some of his friends.”
On Nov. 18, 2012, Talabani had a health emergency and was transported to the hospital following the intensive efforts that he made to bring about reconciliation in the country. A medical team supervising his health said that he is unable to speak or walk. There had been conflicting reports on his health before he was moved to Berlin. There, the detailed records of the president’s illness have disappeared, and there has not been much news on his health.
Al-Monitor contacted Kurdish political leaders, some of whom are close to the president's family. Their statements did not differ from what Dr. Karim said. In the search for more information, there was a video showing Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan shaking hands with Qubad Talabani, the president’s son, in a meeting with representatives of the Kurdistan Regional Government. [In the video] Erdogan asked: “How is your father?” Qubad Talabani answered with a brief sentence in Kurdish: “My father is in a very good condition.”
