George W. Bush this week got a foretaste of the role Iraq is likely to play in the US mid-term congressional elections, when several Democrat politicians boycotted a speech delivered by Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq’s new prime minister.

Both Harry Reid, the Democrat Senate leader, and Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat leader in the House of Representatives, issued statements criticising Mr Maliki for having earlier condemned Israel’s air and ground attacks in Lebanon that began two weeks ago.