Dispute Over Cabinet Seats Continues
Prime Minister-designate Fouad Saniora resumed consultations with the various political groups in an effort to reach an agreement on the formation of the government, but he insisted on not giving a date for the new line-up.
The daily An Nahar on Thursday, citing sources from the majority March 14 coalition, said the ruling party had almost completed its respective cabinet line-up.
The sources said that it had become clear to everybody that the major obstacle to the formation of a new national unity government was Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun due to his "huge basket of demands."
Saniora said after talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday that he was "taking small steps" towards forming a cabinet.
"We are still moving on the right track," Saniora stressed.
President Michel Suleiman, however, acknowledged that "complications" had emerged but stressed that they will be solved through dialogue.
Under the Doha deal, March 14 will have 16 seats in the new cabinet while the opposition will have 11, with the president choosing three ministers – such as the government is split evenly between Muslims and Christians.
Aoun has demanded the portfolios of finance, health, public works, social affairs, and either industry or agriculture.
Service-related cabinet minister posts, of which four are requested by Aoun, are highly coveted by the rival parties ahead of the 2009 parliamentary elections.
Other sources said that the differences over shares in the future cabinet were not only between the majority and opposition, but also within each camp.