For most Baghdadis, July 7th was just another stifling summer day, though perhaps a bit tenser than most after the killing of three American soldiers in the capital in the preceding 24 hours, and the broadcast of a taped address by Saddam Hussein over the weekend. But for Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), it was "probably the most important day since April 9th, when the coalition came and liberated you from the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein." The inauguration of the capital's 37-member municipal council, which Mr Bremer was addressing, marked the "resumption of the democratic system in Baghdad", and was, he said, a step towards the establishment of an elected national government. Well, up to a point. For the past six weeks, the CPA has been supervising the creation of a system of advisory councils throughout the country. In Baghdad, local caucuses chose 88 neighbourhood councils, which in turn chose nine district councils, which in turn chose the city council.
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