The country was a divided country after that. Lately, religious figures such as Ali as-Sistani, the once ultimate arbiter was sidelined when protesters stormed the parliament and ignored his call to leave.

Now President Rashid at the Presidential Palace could step in to fill the void as a person with a unifying reputation that is never taken part in factions or rivalries but devoted his political life to bridging differences.

President Rashid has a long history with Iraqi leaders and is a pioneering member of the PUK, the first party to resist Saddam Hussein's brutal crackdown on Iraqi opposition in the mid and late 1970s.

The PUK headquarters in the mountains of the Kurdistan region served as a safe house and refuge for Iraqi opposition groups to resist tyranny. The PUK relied on support primarily from the E.U., in which President Rashid represented the PUK in the U.K. and several important western nations. As such, he is known for his efforts to bring differences together and work collectively for Iraq and not only the Kurdistan region. 

As the constitution and conventional wisdom have it, the position of the President of the republic is a symbolic one. Yet, former President Jalal Talabani empowered that position by turning it into the center of arbitration for all Iraqi forces. He was a nationally accepted leader with a long history with Iraqi leaders. He helped them in their fight against Saddam Hussein and gave them shelter and protection through the PUK.

The Salam Presidential Palace was a place where all parties, whether marginalized or in power, could turn to and resolve their disputes. He made the office of the President the place that bound all of Iraq together and needed somebody who all could welcome.

In fact, in a consociational democracy where power is shared among different ethnic and sectarian groups, without an overarching authority, Iraq could devolve into anarchy as it did after the 2021 general elections because the office of the president could not bring the parties together.

When President Talabani departed from Iraqi politics in late 2012, the gap he left was felt more than ever. The current political stalemate could have never happened had they heeded President Talabani's advice.

The election of Barham Salih as president of Iraq in 2018 was followed by nationwide Tishreen Protests and frequent clashes between pro-US and pro-Iranian forces. Iraq could no longer balance Iran and the US from one side and local militia from the other. Former President Barham Salih was a figure that the PUK put forward as a compromising one to prevent the party fracture, defied the role Talabani came to make to the office of the Republican President.

Although it might not have been intentionally, Barham Salih divided not only the Kurdish house but also the Shiite house. Most notably, Muqtada al-Sadr, once called him out, saying, very shameful that [he is] the so-called President of the Republic of Iraq (Barham). However, the election of Dr Latif Rashid to President broke a year of stalemate and will bring back that tradition.

All Iraqi parties and leaders welcome President Rashid as he has a long history in Iraq and always eschewed taking sides in rivalries and conflicts and putting his resources into bringing others together. Although relations between the KDP and PUK are record low, they surprisingly agreed on the President Rashid's election.  As a democrat educated in the U.K., president Rashid believes that democracy is the ultimate unity that Iraq so early is in dire need of.

Unity could be the answer to violence, resulting in peace, stability and prosperity and eventually a satisfying majority of Iraqis.