Iyad Allawi threatens to quit power-sharing government, says power-sharing is not happening.
Iyad Allawi, who won the most votes in Iraq's elections, threatened to quit a power-sharing government in an interview with Britain's Times newspaper on Tuesday. "Power-sharing is not happening," Allawi said. "It is not set to work in a meaningful way... If it does not change, I will not participate." Allawi said that Iraq's political system meant a non-sectarian politician could never succeed. He laid the blame at the feet of Iran, and said Iranian leaders had a "red line" against him. "There is a question mark on democracy now," he said. "People realize that Iran has the upper hand and they feel Iraq is controlled by foreign forces," he claimed. "Iran has obstructed the way to power-sharing. They have a red line against me personally and they do not want Iraqiya to participate in the new government." Allawi said Iraqis were likely to quickly become disillusioned with any government that is formed. "There is a lot of disillusionment among Iraqis, whether they voted for us or not," Allawi said. "They associated democracy with the fact that whoever got the highest numbers should spearhead the formation of the government." Asked how Iraq's political landscape would look in a year's time, Allawi told the paper: "Really, I don't know."Allawi Threatens to Quit Iraqi government: Report
