'Block of 100' Reactivates Allawi’s Bid for Premiership

"Here is a scenario: an important block of the United Iraqi Alliance—say one with 20 out of the UIA’s 128 parliamentary seats—defects and joins a motley coalition composed of Ayad Allawi’s group, the Consensus Front, and Saleh Al-Mutlaq’s gaggle for a total of 100 seats. The goal of this new coalition (who for our purposes shall call the ‘Block of 100’) would be to set up a new government with Ayad Allawi as Prime Minister. The Bush administration would greatly welcome this outcome.

According to some chatter that came my way, such a deal was secretly struck by Ayad Allawi and Nadim Al-Jabiri of the Fadhila Party under American auspices yesterday. Once this ‘Block of 100’ is formed, then Allawi can proceed to negotiate with the Kurds, who with their 53 seats would afford him a parliamentary majority and enable him to form a government."
Talisman Gate

Political intrigue, backroom deals, these iraqis are naturals.