New Iraqi government

After a delayed start, the Iraqi parliament approved a new government on Monday evening, headed by Haider al-Abadi as prime minister (pictured). Of the parliament's 328 deputies, 177 voted in favor of the program.

Adel Abdel Mehdi from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq was named oil minister while Ibrahim Jafaari, a former premier, was named as foreign minister. No interior or defense minister was named but Abadi pledged to do so within a week.

Iraq's parliament elected outgoing premier Nuri al-Maliki as one of three largely ceremonial vice presidents.

Earlier reports of absent Kurdish representitives had cast doubts on the vote taking place on Monday at all. However the Kurdish representatives later said they decided to support Abadi, but were giving him three months to meet their demands, which include an agreement on the Kurdistan region's share of the federal budget, as well as the division of Iraq's enormous oil and gas resources in the autonomous region, which is now in the grasp of an economic crisis.

In a speech to parliament outlining his proposed government program, Abadi said, "My government is committed to solve all suspended issues with the Kurdistan Regional Government".

Counter-offensive

Iraq's outgoing government has faced a backlash of criticism for alienating the Sunni Arab minority. Critics claim that it helped create conditions which aided the rejuvenation of Sunni militants, including the "Islamic State" (IS) group, which led an offensive in June, seizing much of the Sunni heartland.

Washington and the United Nations have repeatedly called on Abadi to form a broad-based government. They believe that by providing Sunnis with a greater share of power, the Iraqi government could help encourage them to join a counter-offensive against jihadists.

ksb/shs (dpa, AFP, Reuters)