Aoun Obstacles the Same and Hariri Admonished at Hizbullah
Lebanon approaches an eighth week without Cabinet after talks have dragged on amid Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun”s demands which have been rejected by the majority camp.
Political maneuverings within the March 8 and March 14 camps have complicated the allocation of portfolios despite agreement on the number that each side will get – 15 for the majority, 10 for the Opposition and five for President Michel Suleiman.
Aoun, who holds 27 of the Opposition alliance”s 57 seats, has made a number of demands that the majority March 14 coalition is unwilling to agree to.
March 14 accuses Aoun of blocking Cabinet formation since he insists that his son-in-law, caretaker Telecommunications Minister Jebran Bassil, be given a ministry again. Secondly, his persistence in having a key portfolio — the telecommunications ministry.
Tones reached high pitch in the Aoun dispute in the wake of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri”s admonishment at Hizbullah for breaking a promise that the Shiite group would resolve the "Aoun problem."
Hizbullah, instead, urged Hariri to maintain "direct contact with Aoun personally" in order to settle the disputes related to government formation.
Well-informed sources told the daily An Nahar in remarks published Saturday that the deadlock in efforts to form a government goes back to Hizbullah”s commitment to Bassil”s appointment contrary to a promise made to Suleiman by Hizbullah official Haj Hussein Khalil and another made to Hariri in which Hizbullah vowed to deal with Aoun”s demands once agreement on a government makeup has been reached.
The sources ruled out any dispute within the March 14 coalition regarding the portfolios.
"There is no problem with Speaker Nabih Berri, nor with Hizbullah or with the President or MP Walid Jumblat or the Phalange party or the Lebanese Forces," one source said.
"Both the crisis and the stalemate revolve around one thing only – Aoun”s impossible-to-implement demands and insistence on Bassil first," the source added.
He denied that the Phalange party or the Lebanese Forces had made proposals and held on to them regarding a Cabinet lineup. "Neither did they threaten to turn the table unless their demands were met."
As-Safir newspaper, meanwhile, quoted sources close to Hariri as saying that no breakthrough has been reached in the last 24 hours as Aoun remains the only obstacle.
Al-Mustaqbal daily, in turn, accused the Hizbullah-led Opposition of "continuing to hide behind the Aoun obstacle."
FPM sources said Aoun is likely to take a "tough stance" on Monday regarding accusations that he was hindering government formation.