Rivals may team up to defeat Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has expressed his solidarity with Iraqi Kurdistan, indicating the possibility of an alliance with his former rival Massoud Barzani.
BAGHDAD — Two former adversaries appear to be warming up to each other to collaborate in Iraq's presidential and parliamentary elections set for May — possibly at the expense of the nation's top politician.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi now faces a potential rapprochement between two of his rivals: Vice President Nouri al-Maliki and Massoud Barzani. Maliki is the current leader of the Islamic Dawa Party, and Barzani is head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and former president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
No one actually expected a rapprochement between Maliki and Barzani. However, their need to achieve their targets in the upcoming elections and to tame Abadi pushed both rivals to bridge the gap that opened between them in 2010 and lasted through 2017.
The last time Maliki and Barzani agreed on anything was when all political coalitions decided to renew Maliki's four-year term as prime minister in 2010.
