According to Kurdpress, the intensive and coordinated presence of Bafel Talabani and Qabad Talabani, the senior leaders of the Patriotic Union Party, in the influential Western media in recent weeks is not only a reaction to regional developments; Rather, it is considered part of the broader effort of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party to rebuild its position in Washington and compete directly with the movement led by Nechirvan Barzani and Masrour Barzani in the world media and political arena.

In a situation where the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq had been able to present itself as the main partner of the United States and the West in the region over the past two decades, the Patriotic Union is now trying to change the balance of influence in its favor by using the American and British media, organized lobbying and direct communication with circles close to Donald Trump.

In less than three months, Bafel and Qabad Talabani appeared in a series of Western mainstream and conservative media; They appeared on everything from Fox News and Breitbart News to Channel 4 News UK and Piers Morgan's Uncensored show. This volume of media presence for the leaders of the Patriotic Union has been unprecedented in recent years.

In these interviews, they tried to portray a different image of the Patriotic Union; Not just as a Kurdish military force, but as a "diplomatic", "moderate" and "trustworthy" stream for the West. In his interview with English Channel 4, Qabad Talabani clearly emphasized: "We are not mercenaries; We are negotiators and diplomats." The sentence is actually part of the larger project of the Patriotic Union to redefine its political identity against the image that had been built for years of the Kurds in the West as "combatant forces" and dependents.

In his recent interviews, Bafel Talabani repeatedly emphasized the role of Kurdistan as a "bridge" between regional actors; A message that is interpreted as a sign of the readiness of the Patriotic Union to play the role of mediator and reliable political partner for American and European audiences.

These media movements have occurred simultaneously with the intensification of intra-Kurdish competition for influence in Washington. The research report of Amarji magazine shows that the main parties of Iraqi Kurdistan have spent millions of dollars on lobbying, public relations, and creating an influence network in America in recent years. According to this report, for the first time in more than three decades, the Patriotic Union has created an independent path from the official climate structure in Washington and has hired its own lobbyist; An action that actually shows the deep gap between these two parties in the way they interact with America.

In this regard, Kurdistan Watch's report emphasizes that the Patriotic Union, in cooperation with Ballard Partners - one of the closest lobbying companies to Trump's circle - managed to get close to a part of the Republican political network. The report states that Ballard Partners provides foreign clients with "access to the core of power in Washington" due to its direct connections to the Trumpist establishment; An advantage that, according to analysts, now puts the Patriotic Union in a different position than its competitors.

In contrast, the Kurdistan Democratic Party continues to rely on its more traditional lobby networks such as BGR and Chartwell; Networks that were the main communication channel of Erbil with Congress, Pentagon and American security circles for many years. However, some reports indicate that part of the energy of these networks is now spent on managing the political and legal damage surrounding Masrour Barzani's relatives.

In practice, what is happening now between the Patriotic Union and the Democratic Party is not the only competition between the two local parties over the internal power of the region; Rather, it is a competition to determine who will be the "main representative of the Kurds" in the eyes of Washington and the West.

In this framework, Bafel and Qabad Talabani try to take advantage of their family and political capital. According to Telegraph and Daily, they are both children of Jalal Talabani, the late president of Iraq; A personality who was always known in the West as a pragmatic politician with extensive international relations. British media reports have even emphasized their background in London and their ability to connect with Western elites; An issue that has symbolic importance in competition with Barzani's current.

From this point of view, the consecutive presence of the leaders of the Patriotic Union in the Western media should be considered as part of a wider campaign to establish the message that the Patriotic Union wants to present itself not only as a local actor in Sulaimaniyah, but as a reliable political and diplomatic partner of the West in the Middle East; A position that the Kurdistan Democratic Party has been trying to monopolize for years.