The Two-Front Squeeze

KDP
Under pressure
Erbil KRG Cabinet
KDP bloc 42 seats
KDP + quota allies
vs
PUK bloc 40 seats
PUK + New Generation
Majority needed: 51
Baghdad Iraqi Presidency
KDP allies Shrinking
Maliki, Hadi al-Amiri, Khamis Khanjar
vs
PUK allies Growing
Halbousi, Khazali, Al-Sudani
Second-generation bloc
The squeeze: In Erbil, the KDP lost its coalition bypass when New Generation aligned with PUK. In Baghdad, the PUK is building a bloc with younger Iraqi leaders whose seats are growing, while the KDP remains anchored to an older generation whose numbers are shrinking.