Ibrahim al-Jaafari's fight to stay on as Iraq's prime minister looked all but over after a party in his main Shia alliance offered yesterday to name a replacement to break a four-month-old political deadlock.
But the United Iraqi Alliance was still seeking a face-saving formula for the man it nominated in February to step aside without breaking the bloc apart, Alliance sources said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari
The latest blow to Mr Jaafari came from the small Fadhila party, whose public offer to name another candidate increased pressure on the Alliance to drop its choice for the top job.
"If the Iraqi Alliance cannot nominate Jaafari, anyone from the Alliance can present their own candidate whom they see as the right person to save the political process and get us out of this impasse," Fadhila spokesman Sabah al-Saadi said.
Iraqis elected a new parliament in December, but their leaders have failed to form a unity government that might prevent the current surge of sectarian killings from sparking civil war.
Fresh bloodshed was a reminder that the next prime minister will still have to tackle an insurgency and sectarian tensions that are tearing Iraq apart.
A car bomb exploded outside a Baghdad restaurant frequented by policemen, killing at least five people, including three policemen, and wounding 13, Interior Ministry sources said.
Politicians held several meetings to discuss weekend comments by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a Sunni Arab, who said Shias in Iraq and other Arab states were more loyal to Shia Iran than to their own countries.