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Sadr emerging as Iraq's political kingmaker
By Oliver Poole in Baghdad
11/09/05 "The
Telegraph" -- -- Moqtada al-Sadr, whose followers are
blamed for the recent killings of British troops in Basra, has
emerged as the political kingmaker expected to shape the country's
government for the next four years after the election on Dec 15.
In recent days a procession of Iraq's most powerful political
leaders has paid homage to the 31-year-old cleric.
A year ago the US military wanted him captured dead or alive after a
series of uprisings in the south. Iraqis widely consider the present
government, a coalition of religious Shia groups led by Ibrahim al-Jaafari,
a failure because of its inability to improve the security situation
or guarantee a steady supply of electricity or fresh water.
Sadr, who has more than three million supporters, is likely to hold
the balance of power in the new parliament.
He boycotted the January election but has announced that his
supporters would contest next month's election.
At the weekend Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the Supreme Council
for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which is the dominant partner in
the present government, visited Sadr's headquarters in Kufa to try
to broker a deal.
Even Sunni politicians have begun negotiations with him, based on
their shared anti-Americanism and demand for the withdrawal of all
coalition troops.
Hussan Bazzaz, of the Centre for Culture and Opinion, in Baghdad,
said that by sending conflicting signals Sadr was managing to enter
politics while maintaining the image of an outsider on which his
popularity largely lies.
"Moqtada is moving in a couple of different directions," he said.
"The last election only mattered for a couple of months. This time
it determines power for four years. He is wise to become involved."
It seems certain that, under whatever deal he cuts, a number of his
followers will receive important cabinet posts.
The Americans are insisting that they will work with any legally
elected leader in Iraq.
But the question as to how Sadr, whose rhetoric is vehemently
anti-Western and who saw hundreds of his supporters killed in last
summer's gun battles, would manage to work with them remains
uncertain.
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