Seven long months after parliamentary elections, Iraqis still don\u2019t have a government. Yet Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki was on another international road trip Monday \u201d\u201d this one to Tehran, where he was soliciting the mullahs\u2019 support for his bid to maintain power in Baghdad.<\/p>\n
Mr. Maliki also was just in Syria and Jordan and is expected to visit Egypt and Turkey. Reuters reported that he is offering Arab states investment deals if they nudge his rival, former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, toward accepting Mr. Maliki\u2019s leadership. Mr. Allawi, whose Sunni-backed, secular-Shiite coalition called Iraqiya bested Mr. Maliki\u2019s Shiite State of Law bloc by two seats in the election, has also been on the road trawling for support.<\/p>\n
Iraq needs good relations with its neighbors. But more than anything it needs a legitimate government able to address its many deep problems. Rather than trading unseemly favors with other countries, Mr. Maliki should be working full time with Mr. Allawi and other leaders to break the political impasse at home. Mr. Allawi needs to be open to compromise.<\/p>\n