Lebanese cabinet tussle may come down to finance, foreign affairs
Lebanon spent another day waiting for the formation of a new unity cabinet on Tuesday, but senior figures from both the ruling March 14 camp and the March 8 opposition alliance expressed confidence that the difficulties would be ironed out.
Former President Amin Gemayel met Prime Minister-designate Fouad Siniora, telling reporters afterward that the latter had forwarded two different formulas to the rival parties and was awaiting their responses.
Gemayel denied that Siniora was insisting on keeping the Finance Ministry in the hands of one of his confidantes, contradicting news reports quoting the premier as stating that he would rather "go home" than relinquish control of a portfolio he held for several years under the late Rafik Hariri.
Gemayel also defended the principle of empowering recently elected President Michel Sleiman by giving him major ministries in the new cabinet.
Political sources said Tuesday said that both of Siniora”s formulas have given the president two out of the four sovereign – defense, finance, foreign affairs and interior – portfolios, leaving one each for March 8 and March 14. It has been widely reported that Sleiman is keen on the security-related interior and defense ministries.
MP Ibrahim Kanaan of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) told The Daily Star on Tuesday that the opposition had no fears about the implementation of the Doha agreement despite the delay in the formation of the new cabinet.
Kanaan added that Siniora has not yet presented a "complete" proposal on how the next cabinet would look.
"None of the proposals that reached us were complete ones," Kanaan said.
He also reiterated FPM leader MP Michel Aoun”s demand that the finance portfolio, currently held by March 14 loyalist Jihad Azour, change hands.
However, a source close to Siniora told The Daily Star on Tuesday that the incumbent prime minister believes that no party has the right to monopolize any portfolio.
"Siniora is not against Aoun”s position when it comes to power rotation," the source said. "On the contrary, the prime minister believes that adopting such a principle contributes to reform in state institutions."
Progressive Socialist Party MP Wael Abu Faour suggested that Aoun get the opposition”s sovereign portfolio. The Foreign Ministry was the only one held by the opposition in the last cabinet, and it went to Fawzi Salloukh of Speaker Nabi Berri”s Amal party.
"We agreed in Doha that the sovereign portfolios should be equally divided between the opposition and the parliamentary majority … Given that the interior and defense portfolios would go to the president, I suggest that Aoun says which of the portfolios of finance and foreign he wants … The opposition cannot get both ministries," Abu Faour said.
Aoun has made it clear that he wants finance, a stand rejected by Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea .
"Aoun is saying that no party should monopolize any cabinet portfolio," he said. "If this is his position, why doesn”t he take the Foreign Ministry from his allies in Amal? … The Foreign Ministry has been in the hands of Amal for the past 18 years."
In a separate development on Tuesday, Sleiman received Russian Ambassador Sergey Bukin at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. Bukin told Sleiman that Russia was looking forward to enhanced economic and military cooperation with Lebanon.
Sleiman stressed the need to develop bilateral relations and expressed gratitude for Russia”s support of Lebanon in both regional and international forums.
Sleiman also received a delegation headed by the head of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Lebanon, Abbas Zaki.
"I am glad to see the different Palestinian factions united in one delegation … Palestinian unity is essential in order to avert Israel”s plans to divide the Palestinian people," the president was quoted as saying, referring to the feud between Hamas and Fatah.
Zaki congratulated Sleiman on his election as president and said that the Palestinians were looking forward to open a new page of relations with Lebanon.
Sleiman said unpleasant past experiences in Lebanese-Palestinian relations should be set aside and voiced support for the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.
Sleiman also said he backed efforts aimed at reconstructing the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared near Tripoli, which was destroyed during last year”s battles between the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Fatah al-Islam militant group.