Succession politics seems to be the flavour of the month in the Middle East this century with yet another son taking over from a deceased Dad. Ammar al-Hakim (shown above sporting a spiffy black number), son of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, has taken control of the powerful Iraqi political party, Supreme Islamic Iraq Council (SIIC). The SIIC has close ties to Iran and is one of the most powerful political bodies in Iraq. It also leads a Shiite coalition in Iraq, which is being tipped to win the upcoming 2010 general elections, this despite the recent withdrawal of Nouri al-Maliki's (the current prime minister) Dawa party. If this were to happen, Iran would have a powerful stake in Iraqi politics - something it has yearned for since the creation of the Iraqi state. This would have deep implications for Iraq's Kurd and Sunni populations, particularly if any new Shiite coalition took steps to sideline them with regard to oil revenue. To date the SIIC has played ball and talk from Ammar is that unity and Iraqi interests will come first. Unfortunately for Ammar, such words are largely empty and have been used by dictators in the region for generations. Ammar's succession also hints at oligarchy and nepotism and as all us good democrats know, such things are bad, real bad.
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