A year ago, as Ashraf Ghani (above, right) was about to declare his candidacy to become Afghanistan's president, he told confidants that his dream was to win the election and then persuade the man he perceived to be his biggest threat, Abdullah Abdullah (above, left) to join his government. On September 21st Mr Ghani got his wish, though not in the way he would have wanted. Since the second round of the presidential election on June 14th and the allegations by the loser, Dr Abdullah, of "industrial-scale fraud", the country has been locked in a political crisis. Now, a deal between the two men has been struck that commits them to sharing power and its spoils. Just possibly, a more hopeful chapter in Afghanistan's turbulent recent history is about to open.
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