By NNN-KUNA
Baghdad : The next change in Iraqi government will see it headed by prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, said president Jalal Talabani, emphasizing that agreement was reached last week to form a new government with al-Maliki at the helm.
Al-Maliki sought to find out what the various political blocs thought of the proposed new cabinet, which will not be based on quotas, said Talabani who underlined that the new government will have fewer ministers.
If there was no consensus on the formation of the new cabinet, said Talabani, efforts will be exerted to constrict the number of ministers and to choose the most competent candidates to head the new ministries.
Talabani was speaking in the city of Najaf where he said he was seeking counsel on forming the new government.In a recent TV interview, al-Maliki said he had proposed to the National Security Council that the new government should be made up of 17 to 23 ministers and that they should all be technocrats.
Talabani urged today in Najaf that the four major political blocs in the govenrnment be expanded to to six to include the Islamic Party and the National Unity Party presided over by Iyad Allawi.
The National Kurdistan Union headed by Jalal Talabani, Kurdistan Democratic Party headed by Massoud al-Barazani, Islamic Dawaa Party headed by Nouri al-Maliki, and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council headed by Abdulaziz al-Hakim all signed an agreement last August to seriously move the political process in the country ahead at a fast clip.