With Iraq leader in Berlin, party struggles at home As Iraq's president recovers in Germany from a stroke, his political party at home faces a stiff challenge from an emboldened opposition in upcoming Kurdish elections, with some forecasting a disastrous showing. The struggles facing Jalal Talabani's bloc, which for decades has held a duopoly on power in the autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, could prove instructive for parties across the country. Images and soundbites