Reuters Boo with a shoe to a Baathist



Yet the ban is also backed by some Sunni politicians, especially those who belong to the fading Islamic Party, because its old-guard leaders see a chance to weaken secular Sunni rivals who muddled through under Mr Hussein but who have recently become more popular. DeBaathification, in short, is good for Sunni Islamists and Shia theocrats. They point fingers at politicians such as Saleh al-Mutlaq, a moderate secular member of parliament who left the Baath party in 1977, and General Abdul Qader, a Sunni who has been a notably effective defence minister in a four-year fight against extremists. No credible evidence against them has so far been shown.

Yet another kind of Baathist threat does exist. A group of Sunnis sympathetic to Mr Hussein are believed to be behind a series of spectacular suicide car-bombs that have struck Baghdad in the past six months. On January 25th three killed at least 41 people (see article). But none of the banned candidates has any known link to the bombers or any current insurgency.

In any event, the issue has badly damaged the election prospects of alliances seeking to rise above sectarian prejudice. With other moderate leaders, Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister, had been building up one of three non-sectarian alliances, uniting Sunnis and Shias on a single electoral ticket. Voters seemed to approve, giving him strong support in last year's provincial elections that were seen as a dry run for this year's general one. Mr Maliki had hoped to change the violent and divisively sectarian nature of Iraqi politics.

No longer, it seems. After Mr Chalabi's list came out, Mr Maliki watched in horror as it gained a striking amount of support. Then, sensing a new political momentum, he announced he would back the ban. Apparently reckoning he would be unable to beat his Shia rivals, he decided to join them. The government in Tehran may have given him a friendly wink.

So sectarian rivalry is once again to the fore. The two non-religious alliances competing against Mr Maliki's front are running out of candidates. Mr Mutlaq had a promising liaison with Iyad Allawi, a Shia, who was a tough, secular-minded former prime minister. But between them they may lose 72 candidates to deBaathification. An alliance between Jawad al-Bolani, the Shia interior minister, and Ahmed abu Risha, a Sunni tribal lord, could lose 67.

Some Sunnis are calling for a boycott of the election. They have stayed away before, spurning the last poll, in 2005, because they said the system was stacked against them. Many saw no choice but to help the Sunni insurgents. Now many of them feel backed into a corner once more. If fighting were to flare up again, it could delay the departure of American combat troops, planned by Barack Obama for the late summer. His vice-president, Joe Biden, has flown to Baghdad to discuss a possible compromise with Iraq's leaders. Even if one is found, the sectarian wounds that seemed to be healing have been dangerously reopened.