Prime ministers refusing to leave, political parties with a large number of votes being excluded and dubious coalitions being negotiated — which country are we in, the United Kingdom or Iraq?

The parallels between current political events in London and Baghdad are truly striking, although they cannot be pushed too far. To be fair to incumbent British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, he was obliged by constitutional custom to stay on in office as caretaker until some sustainable arrangement between the various parties could be agreed.

By contrast in Baghdad — where uncertainty has been continuing since the election in March — the entrenched prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has point blank refused to concede to the leader of the slightly larger Iraqiya party, Ayad Allawi, and has vigorously maneuvered to sew a coalition of Shiite groups together to keep out his challenger. This is an ominous development for Iraq and will intensify the fury of both Sunni and other groups that feel they are once again being excluded unfairly from power. If it goes ahead, more violence is bound to follow.