Will the Sunni and Kurdish opponents of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki seek again to vote him out of office? They already attempted to take this step in 2012 but backtracked at the last minute. Today, however, they find themselves in a dire political situation, as violence is likely to break out across the entire country.

This comes amid signs suggesting that Sunni and Kurdish MPs are likely to withdraw from the Maliki government. In fact, the Iraqiya MPs failed to attend the weekly cabinet meeting on March 12, 2013, with the exception of the Ministry of Electricity, whose alliance bloc known as “Li Haal” [For a Solution] has a good relationship with Maliki. The Li Haal block constitutes a Sunni component in the Iraqiya list led by Jamal Karbouli.

Sunni MPs have refrained from attending the weekly cabinet meeting, following the attempt by security forces to arrest the outgoing finance minister, Rafi al-Issawi, in Anbar province.

Issawi, who has been active in leading Sunni protests against Maliki, was on his way from the city of Rutbah, near the Syrian border in the west of Anbar, heading to the city center when he was intercepted by a military helicopter. However, he managed to escape with the help of some people from the province.