i'm sick of waiting to see whether the january 30th iraqi elections were successful. all it took for the bush administration and most of the press was a bunch of purple fingers, but my position has been that the elections are a success if they produce a democratic government. that still hasn't happened yet. seven weeks later and there is no government, just political paralysis.
i'm not even sure what will happen if the iraqi factions are unable to form one. in most countries with this sort of parliamentary-style of democracy, deadlock would eventually trigger a new election. but i don't think the interim constitution even contemplates this happening. does allawi get to stay interim prime minister in the meantime even though his party lost big in the elections? if so, doesn't that give him every incentive to undermine the negotiations to form a new government?
a lot has been said about the power of elections in teaching iraqis about democracy. but if the first democratic election in the country produces nothing but partisan squabbling and no government, what exactly can we expect the iraqis to learn from this?
