All is not well between the ruling parties in Iraqi Kurdistan. The ongoing rivalry between the Barzani family-led Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Talabani family-led Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is disrupting the government formation process in Baghdad. It is also impacting preparations for regional elections in Iraqi Kurdistan that are slated to be held in October.

Against this backdrop, talks between the KDP and the PUK held under the auspices of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) have offered a glimmer of hope that the two parties could set some of their disagreements aside and work together to achieve a breakthrough on these issues. However, there has been little progress so far...