Jawad al-Maliki?s appointment as Prime Minister-designate was applauded by Iraqi leaders and US President George W. Bush, but he now has the daunting task of forming a coalition able to avert any slide into civil war. The Shi?ite politician?s image as a tough talker seems to fit well in a country where many say only a strong man can lead them.

But many Iraqis living beyond the fortified government complex in Baghdad were already saying before his appointment on Saturday they doubted any of Iraq?s present leaders could deliver quick relief from guerrilla and sectarian violence.

Underlining the dangers, at least five people died in a mortar attack near the Defence Ministry in Baghdad yesterday. Three rockets were also fired near a soccer stadium, but no one was hurt.

Amid the bloodshed, the disillusionment of ordinary Iraqis has deepened during four months of political paralysis that had held up the formation of a new government. It was also exacerbated by promises in December elections of fast action to tackle Iraq?s woes.

?We are going to form a family that will not be based on sectarian or ethnic backgrounds,? Maliki told reporters, seeking to shed a hardline Shi?ite image and present himself as a prime minister able to unite Shi?ite Muslims, Sunni Arabs and Kurds.

But in his first policy speech, Maliki called for Iraq?s powerful militias to be merged with US-trained security forces ? an explosive issue in the country because militias are tied to political parties and operate along religious lines.

?Arms should be in the hands of the government. There is a law that calls for the merging of militias with the armed forces,? said Maliki, nominated by the ruling Shi?ite Alliance, the largest bloc in parliament.

The United States has called in the past for militias to be disarmed, and US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has said militiamen are killing more people than insurgents. Washington hopes a national unity government will foster stability and enable it to start bringing home its more than 130,000 troops.

?This historic achievement by determined Iraqis will make America more secure,? Bush told reporters in California. ?The United States and our coalition partners will work with the new Iraqi government to reassess our tactics, adjust our methods and strengthen our mutual efforts to achieve victory in this central front on the war on terror,? he said.

Five US soldiers were killed on Saturday in two separate roadside bomb attacks south of Baghdad, the US military said. More than 2,380 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the March 2003 US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

Ability as a dealmaker

Maliki, who has 30 days to present his cabinet to parliament, will have to tackle an insurgency that draws support from the minority Sunni community and sectarian bloodshed that has exploded since a February bombing of a Shi?ite shrine.

Sunnis held sway under Saddam?s rule but the majority Shi?ites are now the leading force in politics. Maliki, a proven behind-the-scenes player who has helped shape postwar Iraqi politics, must also rescue the oil-rich country?s economy, which has been starved of foreign investment because of the violence.

The Shi?ite Alliance chose Maliki ? an official in Iraq?s oldest Islamist party al Dawa ? after its original candidate, interim Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, bowed out under pressure from Sunni and Kurdish parties.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani formally designated Maliki as prime minister after a breakthrough in negotiations on Friday and asked him to form Iraq?s first full-term government since Saddam was ousted in 2003. Parliament re-elected Talabani, a Kurd, as president.

Appointing officials overseeing powerful ministries, including the interior, defence and oil portfolios, will test Maliki?s ability as a deal-maker. Sunni leaders have accused the Shi?ite-run Interior Ministry of condoning death squads targeting Sunnis so there may be a protracted battle over that portfolio. Shi?ites deny. Maliki had been widely viewed as a sectarian politician, but Sunni leaders say they can live with him.

Michael GEORGY