BAGHDAD — The post of prime minister in Iraq is proving to be a tough gig.

Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, who was designated to become prime minister with the support of pro-Iranian forces in Iraq, withdrew his candidacy March 2 after he failed to form a government within the constitutionally mandated 30-day deadline. Now those forces are looking back over their shoulders at caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, thinking he might be their best hope to retain influence in Iraq. However, Abdul Mahdi said March 2 that he is taking a voluntary absence from the post.

Allawi’s failure resulted from a large front that formed against him and his supporters in parliament. Allawi only had the support of the Iran-affiliated Fatah Alliance —- the political wing of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) — and, initially, the erratic cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sairoon Alliance. The rest of the Iraqi political groups — including Kurdish members of parliament, the majority of Sunnis and the rest of the Shiite parties — all were united against Allawi.

Allawi’s rejection raised concern among the PMU's pro-Iranian factions, leading them to threaten to burn the country if the political parties nominate a pro-American prime minister.