Barzani has played an important role in resolving political crises in the country's past. Following the 2010 elections, the Erbil agreement was signed and led to the formation of the current Iraqi government, which had been delayed for more than 10 months at the time.
Iraq witnessed a major political crisis after the 2010 elections, when Maliki’s national coalition list, winning 89 parliamentary seats, and Iyad Alawi’s Iraqiyya list, which obtained 91 seats, were both fighting for the right to form the government.
The Iraqi constitution stipulates that the parliamentary majority should form the government. However, the growing conflict between Baghdad and Erbil has caused tension between Barzani and Maliki. Several issues and unsettled problems are disputed between both men, including Article 140 of the constitution, which deals with Kirkuk and the disputed regions; the privileges of the current government in Kurdistan region; the oil contracts signed by the region’s government with foreign companies, which are unrecognized by the Iraqi government and the Kurdish Peshmerga’s budget. Ever since, Talabani has had to play the role of peacemaker.
Talabani's latest health complications have not helped him to lead the national dialogue, for which he had lately been preparing, especially after Maliki brought the Tigris Operations Command to Kirkuk and was faced with Kurdish military mobilization.
Adnan al-Mufti, a prominent leader in Talabani’s party and the former president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, believes that Talabani’s absence has affected the Iraqi political scene, and that the political parties cannot search for solutions in his absence.
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