Middle East Economic Survey

VOL. XLVII

No 34

23-August-2004

The Political Scene (23 August 2004)

The standoff in Najaf between the Iraqi government and the followers of Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has entered its third week. A conference in Baghdad has nominated a 100-member interim national assembly. There is speculation that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon may call early elections after his proposal to form a coalition with the opposition Labour party was voted down by his own Likud party.

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