US President George W. Bush on Tuesday praised "the spirit of compromise" as a cornerstone of democracy and predicted Iraq's parliament would quickly overcome internal divisions and form a new government. "We expect a new government will be chosen soon," he told an audience that included religious leaders and law students visiting from Iraq, adding: "We look forward to working with the government that emerges from this process."
Bush spoke in the White House Rose Garden after the new Iraqi parliament's second session ended in chaos as deputies failed to select a new speaker and jeered one another, prompting warnings the body now risks losing credibility.
With Iraq's government in limbo two months after the January 30 elections, insurgents seized on the deadlock to cause mayhem as a car bomb exploded in the ethnically divided city of Kirkuk, killing one person and wounding 17.
Bush downplayed the political fractures in Baghdad while emphasising the need for leaders to mend such breaks with compromise and by reaching out to minority groups.
"We're confident that this new government will be inclusive, will respect human rights and will uphold fundamental freedoms for all Iraqis," the president said.
"In a democratic Iraq, these differences will be resolved through debate and persuasion instead of force and intimidation," he said.
"In a democracy, the government must uphold the will of the majority while respecting the rights of minorities," said Bush.
"In forming their new government, the Iraqis have shown that the spirit of compromise has survived more than three decades of dictatorship. They will need that spirit in the weeks and months ahead as they continue the hard work of building their democracy," said the president.
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