Iraq and the cleric who fought the West

Moqtada al-sadr, an anti-establishment cleric was a surprise leader in early results from the country’s election last night

The possible future of Iraq continues to defy any form of political calculation. This is likely to be the verdict of any keen observer of the nation's politics as the trend of the results of the on-going elections seems to have surprised some.

Moqtada al-Sadr’s unusual coalition of reformed Shia militants and communists was ahead of the incumbent western-backed prime minister, Haider al-Abadi. Haider al-Abadi was trounced in Baghdad and in other places.




The election results may therefore throw all predicted permutations of the possible shape of the new government out of the window. Mr Sadr was expected to be the kingmaker rather than the king. The Western hoped he would keep a pledge to support Mr Abadi for a second term.