Iraq’s new parliament opened today to the boom of mortar fire and fiery debate from the floor - then promptly closed again, as the newly elected legislators returned to backroom horsetrading over the make-up of the new government.

Having failed to make a deal on the government, there was little for the politicians to do but meet, declare the session open, listen to speeches from various dignitaries and finally to take their oath of office.

Even that simple act descended into farce, following a squabble on the floor over whether the legislators should be made to swear the oath in Kurdish as well as Arabic.

Despite the purely ceremonial nature of the day’s proceedings, deputies hailed it as an historic event. It was the first elected assembly in more than half a century, noted one, and a rare, bloodless and willing transfer of power in the Islamic world, noted another.

"It’s an historic day," Hoshyar Zebari, the interim Foreign Minister said after the ceremony. "These are the new representatives of the new Iraq."

But the bloody past and present of this country loomed large over the proceedings. The date selected for the opening of the parliament was the anniversary of the gassing of the Kurds at Halabja in 1998, in which 5,000 men, women and children perished, the event which above all else has come to symbolise the atrocities of Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Despite calls from many to hold the meeting outside the heavily protected Green Zone to demonstrate their independence from its American protectors, the threat was such that parliamentarians had no choice but to meet inside it in the vast convention centre built by Saddam.

Security was ratcheted up, with helicopters circling the zone, and much of the Baghdad’s centre cut off as extra razor wire and blast barriers were erected to protect the arriving deputies. As they took their seats in the auditorium, the sound of a volley of mortar round reverberated through the building, shaking window panes as sirens wailed to signal an attack.

As the political factions had failed even to agree on a candidate for speaker, the proceedings were chaired according to Iraqi custom by the oldest member present, 82-year-old Sheikh Dhari al-Fayidh. He began by paying tribute to all "the martyrs who died for this country", including what he called "the victims of the north".

"Kurdistan, Kurdistan," came an angry cry from the floor.

"Sorry," the aging sheik muttered. "Kurdistan."

Further semantic interruption were to take place: one deputy objecting to the omission of "honourable" before gentlemen; another reminding a speaker that, with 25 percent of the seats, there were also ladies to be honoured; and a swift correction of the use of Iraq’s old Baathist name.

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