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.”
