Still, Mr Talabani's Kurds may want Mr Allawi in to act as a counterweight to the UIA's pushier elements.

ECONOMIST: Iraq's Shias stick with the devil they know | The

Mr Kasich was pushier than that: he demonstrated that his spending targets were achievable by publishing a suggested list of cuts, showing how he would do it.

ECONOMIST: John Kasich, fading Jacobin