Ruling partners pressure Maliki

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'Not about personality'

As a guarantee, the skeptical Talabani, Hashimi and Abdul Mehdi inserted a clause in the paper that said the presidency reserved the right to call for a parliamentary vote of no confidence against the prime minister if he failed to move seriously on reforms or to consult them.

"We are giving Al Maliki another opportunity to prove he is very much interested to change the course," Hashimi said.

"We have said no problem if you are prepared to make the required reforms," he said. "We don't have any reservations about you staying in power. It's not about personality; it's about how the country is going to be run. If he fails, definitely the country will be in need of a replacement."

Maliki supporters, for their part, appear deeply suspicious of the presidency council and reluctant to cede ground.

"They want to take some authority from the prime minister," said Sami Askari, a parliament member and part of Maliki's inner circle. "If Hashimi takes anything from Maliki, that means Adel Abdul Mehdi will take something as well."

Advisors to Maliki have confirmed the existence of the document and the prime minister's acceptance, but it has yet to be signed.

"There is such a thing," said Haidar Abadi, a parliament member with Maliki's party. "I don't know if it will come to that. If things go to the worse, they can ask for a vote of no confidence. It's a constitutional right. That's how we see it, and we don't reject it."

Humam Hamoodi, a senior leader from the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the largest party in Maliki's 85-seat Shiite bloc, said the document was meant to hold Maliki accountable.

"It is also to make these meetings more serious and more productive," he said. "We think through pressure and advice and support we can make it better."

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Oil is an issue

The deepest disputes remain between Maliki and the Kurdish Alliance. The Kurds believe that Maliki has reneged on promises to bring to a parliamentary vote the draft of a national oil law approved by the Cabinet a year ago. The legislation invited regional governments to sign their own oil contracts with Baghdad's approval and to welcome joint ventures. Instead, they say, Maliki has thrown his weight behind a radically reworked draft law that the Kurds say peels back the regions' rights. The legislation remains in limbo.