Suleiman Kicks Off Consultations for PM”s Post, Majority for Hariri but Opposition Hesitant
President Michel Suleiman kicks off two days of consultations with parliamentary blocs for the post of prime minister on Friday, a day after parliament reelected Speaker Nabih Berri for a fifth term.
An Nahar daily quoted sources close to Berri as saying the speaker insists on the "fusion" of March 8 and March 14 forces to form a national unity cabinet.
Majority sources, meanwhile, said the "drills" during Thursday”s parliament session do not give the impression that all opposition parties are committed to the "positive atmosphere" to help in the formation of a new government.
The sources told An Nahar that MP Saad Hariri will continue in the path of "consensus atmosphere" that prevailed after the June 7 elections and will hold consultations after Suleiman ends his talks with parliamentary blocs to appoint him premier-designate.
Although Berri was reelected Thursday, he didn”t get the expected 100 votes, an indication that many majority MPs didn”t cast ballots in his favor. In retaliation, only four opposition lawmakers voted for Farid Makari as deputy speaker.
Berri got 90 votes while Makari got 70.
Opposition sources told An Nahar that more than half of al-Mustaqbal movement MPs didn”t abide by the agreement reached between Berri and Hariri. This led to a counter reaction by not giving enough votes to Makari.
After his reelection, Berri met with Suleiman at Baabda palace which later announced the program of consultations to name a new premier that start Friday afternoon and continue till Saturday afternoon.
As Safir daily said that by late Thursday night, several opposition blocs hadn”t made up their mind on naming Hariri for the prime minister”s post.
The newspaper said Change and Reform bloc leader Gen. Michel Aoun took the decision not to name Hariri. MP Talal Arslan”s bloc circles told As Safir that the minister will most probably adopt Aoun”s stance.
Zgharta MP Suleiman Franjieh circles told As Safir that his bloc will meet to announce its stance on Friday, the same day the new Saudi ambassador meets with Franjieh, the first contact between the two sides in four years.
The Loyalty to the Resistance bloc will also reportedly hold a meeting to take the appropriate decision on the premier”s nomination.
Al-Liwaa newspaper said Hariri might not get the green light from more than 90 MPs.
It said the guarantees that Hariri had asked for to facilitate the mission of his government would be Saudi-Syrian guarantees with an Egyptian blessing and American-European backing rather than the veto power that the opposition is asking for.