Domestic rivalries stall KRG government formation

More than five months since elections in Iraq’s Kurdish region, Kurdish politicians have still not formed a government. A stand-off continues between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which came out on top at the polls, the Gorran (Change) movement, which took second place, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which was third. The strategic alliance between the KDP and PUK has traditionally been an integral element in ensuring stability, but the PUK’s fall from grace, and the rise of its offshoot Gorran, mean that three parties are now jostling for influence in the new government.