Who Gets What in the New Cabinet?
Efforts exerted to form the new cabinet are focusing on distributing seats and portfolios among the March 14 majority alliance factions after the Hizbullah-led opposition has agreed on its share.
President Michel Suleiman”s share also has been settled by nominating Elias Murr to handle the defense portfolio, Ziad Baroud to handle the interior ministry and a Roman Catholic personality as minister without portfolio.
The opposition got the seats of labor, youth and sports and a minister without portfolio for Hizbullah; foreign, health and industry for AMAL; public works, telecommunications, agriculture, power and the seat of vice premier for Michel Aoun”s Change and Reform bloc.
The main challenge to be handled yet is how to distribute 11 seats among the March 14 forces.
The 11 portfolios to be filled yet are: finance, education, justice, public works, economy, ministry of the displaced, information, environment, culture, administrative development and tourism.
The challenge facing March 14 forces is: Who gets what?
The public works portfolio that, among other powers, controls Beirut Airport, is the focus of a competition between three major March 14 factions, Walid Jumblat”s Democratic Gathering, Samir Geagea”s Lebanese Forces, and Mohammed Safadi of the Tripoli Gathering.
Such a competition touches sensitive factional grounds between the Druze, Christians and Sunnis.
Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra said his party wants a "balanced cabinet."
He said the LF does not want to be represented by two Maronite ministers but its "popular and political impact should be taken into consideration."
If the LF was "marginalized, it would not take part in the cabinet," Zahra said.
However, Democratic Gathering member Wael Abu Faour said "consultations persist to crystallize a cabinet."
The Democratic Gathering and Jumblat”s Progressive Socialist Party are "very flexible" in efforts to form the cabinet, Abu Faour said.
He explained that the telecommunications portfolio, which the PSP had controlled in the outgoing cabinet, is now part of the opposition”s share.
"Instead, we were offered the public works portfolio," Abu Faour said but avoided indicating that the party insists on filling the seat.
Another problem facing the line-up efforts is that Hizbullah might nominate Talal Arslan, a Druze, to a cabinet seat.
Such a move would lead March 14 factions to nominate a Shiite personality to a cabinet seat, which opens the gate to competition between Saad Hariri”s Mustaqbal Movement and Jumblat”s PSP.
Hariri reportedly prefers to nominate MP Ghazi Youssef to a cabinet post, while Jumblat prefers PSP official Duraid Yaghi.
Hariri also reportedly wants to nominate Ghattas Khoury, a Maronite, to a cabinet seat. This strips other Maronite members of the March 14 alliance from a seat reserved to Christians.
When predominantly Shiite Hizbullah crossed the factional boundary by nominating a Druze, it opened the door to a non-desired competition among its foes of the March 14 alliance.