Iraqi PM Has 30 Days to Form Gov’t

Finally! More than eight months after parliamentary elections were held in Iraq, newly elected President Jalal Talabani has officially nominated Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to serve a second term, charging him with pulling together a ruling coalition over the next 30 days. Talabani, in a televised press conference, asked al-Maliki to create “a government of national partnership [that] will not exclude anyone.” While Iraq struggled to put together a legislature based on competing political factions, fundamental services for citizens have slipped through the cracks, making the formation of a functional government a pressing issue.