CAIRO - Officials and newspapers around the Middle East on Friday cautiously welcomed the new Iraqi cabinet, commenting on what one called its "painful birth" and pointing to the enormous challenges ahead.
There was almost universal agreement that Iraqis must work even harder to overcome ethnic and religious differences and to put an end to the insecurity that is plaguing their country.
After weeks of political deadlock led to the formation of a nearly complete cabinet, prime minister-designate Ibrahim Jaafari succeeded Thursday in getting approval from the new national assembly.
However, the two key portfolios of defense and oil have still to be filled, underscoring continuing maneuvering by the minority Sunni Arabs, dominant under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, to get the best deal they can.
That view was expressed by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, who while welcoming what he called an essential step in the Iraqi political process, said the "jockeying (among the various communities) is going to carry on, and instability last, for some time."
Osama Saraya, editorial director at the government magazine Al-Ahram al-Arabi, said "we would hope for a political springtime in Iraq but, alas, the winter continues."
He criticised the weakness of Iraqi exiles who had returned following the fall of Saddam Hussein two years ago and their inability to govern.
Al-Bayan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) spoke of a "hasty delivery by Caesarian" under heavy outside pressure, with "Washington openly intervening to bring it about" after almost three months of horsetrading since the January 30 elections.
The daily said the critical, short-term test for the new government will be to return security to the country.
"More long term, success will depend on its ability to speed up the withdrawal of occupation forces."
Another Emirati paper, Al-Ittihad, said that after "its painful birth, the government will now have to restore the confidence and the optimism of its citizens and, most importantly, counter the waves of violence and terrorism threatening the security and stability of Iraq."
And the UAE's Gulf News noted that: "Not all obstacles were overcome in a country that has many ethnic and sectarian groups. Yet, this might be seen as the first mile in a thousand-mile journey."
Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari "has made it clear that establishing a secure environment and putting an end to the bloody attacks come very high on his plan of action. And this will be his next battle."
Al-Sharq in Qatar said the failure to complete the cabinet list shows that sectarian differences have still not been settled.
It said this shows the "need to rehabilitate the Sunni forces," which were dominant under Saddam and all previous Iraqi leaders, "by giving them the portfolios consonant with their importance and their effective political weight".
Al-Watan, also in Qatar, said the formation of the new cabinet represents an "important phase in the political process."
It said the government must now face the "extremely important" challenges of battling corruption and of eliminating the "electoral injustice" suffered by Sunni Arabs.
The Sunnis largely boycotted the January election, but the victorious Shiite and Kurdish alliances have been encouraging them to take part in the new government.
For his part, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami expressed "satisfaction" with the formation of a new interim Iraqi government, offering Iran's cooperation.
"The Iraqi people and government are going through a crucial period and one which requires alertness and preservation of national unity," the Shiite head of state said in letter to Jaafari carried by the Iranian media.
04/29/2005 11:53 GMT