Ruling partners pressure Maliki

The Kurds also believe that the Islamic Dawa Party has permitted the Kurds to be stymied in parliament on issues such as the funding of its regional paramilitary force and the Kurdistan region's 17% share of the national budget. The latter dispute has delayed passage of the 2008 budget. Since the latest effort at compromise between Maliki and the presidency council, one piece of major legislation has passed parliament -- a law to reinstate former civil servants from Saddam Hussein's government -- but the presidency council has criticized the legislation.

Dawa members believe that neither the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council nor the Kurds will remove powerful party figures from ministries in the name of forming a technocrat government. But the Kurds, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and the Islamic Party have started to coalesce around Abdul Mehdi as a possible alternative to Maliki.

"If you ask me who could replace Maliki, there are millions of Iraqis who would be qualified to be prime minister, but on top of the list is definitely Dr. Adel [Adbul Mehdi]," Hashimi said. "I can say that he could be the man in case our intended reforms reach an impasse."

Hamoodi of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council acknowledged that Abdul Mehdi still had much support within the broader Shiite alliance. "Half of the [alliance] wants Adel Abdul Mehdi to be the prime minister, but anyway we have a prime minister now and he has had success especially in the security file," Hamoodi said.

The senior parliament member pointed out that Maliki remained weak.

"The Sunnis have problems with him; the Kurds have problems with him; even the Shiites have problems," Hamoodi said.

Maliki confidant Askari accused Abdul Mehdi of traveling to Tehran last month to engineer Maliki's ouster but said he was rebuffed by the Iranian government

Abdul Mehdi, who twice narrowly lost in his bids for the premiership after Iraq's two national elections in 2005, is a favorite in Washington, where he is seen as a relative moderate, capable of working with all of Iraq's religious and ethnic groups. He has denied any wish to unseat Maliki.

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Minding the U.S.

A government official with the Shiite bloc cautioned that the Americans were still opposed to replacing Maliki -- particularly in a U.S. presidential election year and with no ironclad assurance that a new Cabinet could be named in less than four or five months.

A U.S. State Department official, who was not authorized to speak to reporters, said the Americans doubted such a coalition to oust him existed.

The Iraqi official, who also did not have permission to talk to journalists, said the factions were looking for the votes necessary for a no-confidence resolution to pass in the parliament.

"I think they will do it if they can agree on a person who can take over the Cabinet after a vote of no confidence, but we don't have the formula yet," he said. "A lot of people are hoping they will come up with something soon."

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ned.parker@latimes.com

Times staff writers Raheem Salman, Saif Hameed, Saif Rasheed, Said Rifai and Caesar Ahmed contributed to this report.