Enough bickering... time for action in Somalia

You're in a sinking life-boat, surrounded by sharks. What do you do? In Somalia, the answer seems to be "don't paddle - just haggle".

For months now, the country's grandly titled, but barely functioning "Transitional Federal Government" (TFG) has been preoccupied with a level of internal political wrangling that even the decks of the Titanic probably didn't have to endure.
So could this weekend's breakthrough mark the start of a more constructive period for the TFG, and the tiny, besieged patch of Somalia that it occupies?
Fresh from Buffalo, USA, the new Prime Minister Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed faces a daunting task, with less than a year's mandate left to restore some credibility, broaden his bickering government's political base, tackle corruption and bring some concrete benefits to the beleaguered residents of Mogadishu. A tall order, says a Western diplomat, involved in the laborious international process of trying to resuscitate Somalia's state - as things stand, "I can't see anyone being enthusiastic about extending their time in office."
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