President with veto power presents improved balance
Democratic Gathering bloc MP Marwan Hamadeh said that the March 14 alliance accepts the idea of having a president who holds veto power instead of giving the opposition one-third of the cabinet votes, “as long as he is a president who believes in consensus and is a good referee in tough times.”
In an interview to Ad-Diyar newspaper on Monday, Hamadeh praised President Michel Sleiman, saying that he has a “role which allows him to draw the line in the face of those who distort constitutional institutions.”
He said Sleiman is balancing the situation in an obstructed state, “because those who returned,” A reference to Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun, “to the state did not act as partners but as obstructers.” He also asked whether all the talk about a second Doha agreement meant that the May 7 events would happen again.
Hamadeh added that instituting a three-way power sharing system means having the Christians hold only one-third of the political, administrative and security positions in the country, instead of half, as is the case now.
He also said that declaring a Third Republic either meant changing the president or dismantling the democratic system for an unidentified system that has commitments to other states, a reference to Iran and Syria.