As they say in Spanish, ¡Por fin!
Via Reuters: Jaafari Named as Iraqi PM, President Sworn In
Islamist Shi’ite Ibrahim Jaafari was named as Iraq’s next prime minister on Thursday, moving the country a step closer to its first democratically elected government in more than 50 years.
To be fair, the fact that this took a while shouldn’t be a surprise. Consider the elements: a highly fractionalized party system, super-majority rules, substantial sectarianism and regionalism, a history of extreme authoritarianism, a substantially damaged state apparatus and an ongoing insurgency.
From a comparative politics POV it isn’t hyperbole to call success in this process highly remarkable.
Of course, now it gets harder: they have to write a permanent constitution whilst trying to govern.
Setting aside the contentious question of the rightness of the war, no serious political scientist can look at this situation and not see an intriguing process and true laboratory for the study of numerous elements of political behavior.
The NYT version of the story: New Iraqi President Sworn In; Jaafari Is Named Prime Minister
WaPo’s: Shiite Jafari Is Named Iraqi Prime Minister
Also, the NYT has this nifty graphic: