First Honduras and now Iraq, expressing optimism about people coming to their senses can be a perilous exercise. After an previous optimistic post from me, the deal is now starting to unravel. Unhappy with their seat allocation the Kurds are threatening a boycott and the Sunnis are expressing their displeasure as well. It seems that the Kurds have not learned from the Sunni boycott of the previous elections that such a step is ultimately self defeating. The elections will happen, the Kurds will be locked out of the corridors of power and ticked off groups will resort to the gun. The mess in Iraq also shows just how hard it is to conduct a multi-ethnic state when there is no trust among the various ethnic groups.
[…] may have finally got a deal to hold its elections. Previous blogs here and here. The electoral deal staves off a potential civil war over sharing power and oil […]