The new Shia coalition, the Iraqi National Alliance (INA), is reaching out to former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi in a bid to form a cross-sectarian alliance to compete against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in next January’s parliamentary elections.

Despite denials by Allawi, several members of his parliamentary coalition have confirmed that the alliance will soon be announced, striking a blow to Iraqi secularists who continue to see the INA as a sectarian force.

The INA leadership is said to have approached Allawi to offset the loss of Prime Minister al-Maliki who has decided to compete in next January’s parliamentary elections under his own coalition, the Rule of Law list, rather than with the Shia Alliance as he did in 2005.

With the electorate favouring nationalistic, non-sectarian platforms in last January’s provincial elections, Allawi could potentially draw votes away from al-Maliki say observers.

In an interview with al-Hayat newspaper on Tuesday, Jamal al-Baatikh, a spokesperson for Allawi’s Iraqi List, announced that the two sides were close to forming an alliance.

“Although we are still in the process of talks with the coalition there is a full agreement of views and it is likely that we will announce an official alliance after the Eid [Muslim holiday],” he said, stressing that INA will be a non-sectarian list.

Rasem al-Awwadi, an MP from Allawi’s Iraqi List, also confirmed to Niqash that the coalition was on the brink of creation.

On Wednesday, however, Allawi, speaking in London, stated that there had been no talks over a potential deal.

“We are not ready to enter an alliance adopting sectarian, ideological political programs,” he said, adding that preconditions for any talks include the adoption of a broad-based coalition with representatives from different political and sectarian movements, as well as the adherence to a non-sectarian political program based on the rule of law.

The INA would not confirm that any talks with Allawi had taken place.

“The alliance has entered into a number of conversations,” Qays al-Amiri an MP from the INA told Niqash, without providing details.

With Allawi having long espoused non-sectarian, secular politics, political observers have been surprised by talk of the potential match-up. Prior to elections in 2005, Allawi held brief talks with the Shia Alliance about a joint list but the two sides could not come to an agreement.

Nonetheless, other observers say that Allawi could be tempted by the proposition of an alliance and that he may in fact have already begun talks.

According to Izzat Shabandar, a former spokesman for Allawi’s Iraqi List who recently resigned because of conflicts with Allawi, the strategy - cemented during a secret visit by Allawi to Iran in August 2009 - represents a new attempt to become Prime Minister.

“His visit to Iran gave him the green light to pursue his dream of becoming the new Prime Minister supported by the Shia bloc,” he said.

Although Allawi was the first Prime Minister after the fall of the Baath regime, he fared poorly in elections in 2005, and has spent many of the past years abroad because of health issues. His participation in parliament has been sporadic and according to Shabandar this new alliance would represent an opportunity to regain popular support.

“Politics is a game that does not acknowledge values and principles. It is interests, rather than ideological principles, that stand behind the formation of political blocs,” said Shabandar.

For sure, any such move by Allawi would shock many of his supporters. The former Prime Minister has long been known for his ‘liberal and secular’ project which directly contradicts many of the principles of the religious parties incorporated in the INA.

The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), the dominant force in the INA, was one of Allawi’s most fierce critics when he was Prime Minister often accusing him of being a Baathist.

According to Usama al-Nujaifi, an MP and former member of Allawi’s Iraqi List, “Allawi’s move [would be] a blow to secular streams.”

“We are hoping that liberal streams will take advantage of the shrinking popularity of religious parties instead of supporting and building alliances with these streams – the streams that have adopted a sectarian discourse which they will never abandon,” said al-Nujaifi.

Supporters of Allawi, however, defend the feasibility of an alliance with the INA.

“Joining the coalition is not against the liberal discourse of the list as some might say. It is built on common understandings and this is a customary practice by many blocs,” said al-Awwadi. “The parliamentary elections could witness unexpected coalitions that will surprise everybody.”

Despite the long-standing tensions between ISCI and Allawi, an ISCI source told Niqash that there has been a shift in the party’s approach since the death of former leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, allowing a potential rapprochement with secular and non-Shia forces.

Speaking on condition of anonymity the source said that “the new leader, Ammar al-Hakim, is seeking to reopen to Syria and those previously accused of supporting Baathists, and has the will to reconsider internal coalitions with other Iraqi forces.”

But the source did state that an INA-Allawi alliance would likely face strong opposition from other key members of the INA, especially the Sadr movement and the Iraqi National Congress, led by Ahmed al-Chalabi.

“The Sadrist stream will never forgive Allawi’s role in the Najaf battle in 2004, when Allawi was Prime Minister. Moreover, the National Congress, the initiator of the de-Baathification project in Iraq, will never stop its accusations against Allawi who is perceived as being a supporter of the Baathists,” said the ISCI source.