Jumblat Expects Initiatives as Hizbullah Resumes Activity with Rabiyeh
PM-designate Saad Hariri continued discussions on a Cabinet lineup where he met in Qoreitem late Tuesday with Druze leader Walid Jumblat.
During the meeting which was also attended by Druze ministers Ghazi Aridi and Wael Abu Farour as well as MP Marwan Hamadeh, Jumblat stressed his support for a 15-10-5 Cabinet makeup which had already been agreed upon.
Jumblat also called for providing every "necessary" service in order to achieve a Cabinet lineup.
The Progressive Socialist Party leader also uncovered that Hariri has embarked on the "necessary steps" toward achieving a national unity government.
In remarks published Wednesday by the daily As-Safir, Jumblat said Hariri has "made every effort in order to make progress on Cabinet formation," adding that new initiatives are likely to be adopted by the premier-designate in this respect.
"Hariri and I want a government that would act as a safety valve to face the challenges," Jumblat said.
Jumblat said he shares Hariri his opinion that there is no question about forming a national unity government "in order to confront the possibility of an Israeli attack at any moment."
Hariri had also met late Monday with Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah”s political aide Hajj Hussein Khalil.
The daily An-Nahar said, however, that no significant progress has been made during the Hariri-Hizbullah meeting.
Al-Liwaa newspaper, for its part, said Hariri admonished Khalil for backing down on commitments while the majority March 14 coalition adhered to pledges made since the parliamentary elections.
It said Hariri urged Hizbullah to "exert every effort" with its ally the Free Patriotic Movement in order to resolve the so-called "Aoun obstacle."
The daily quoted Opposition sources as saying that Khalil informed Hariri Hizbullah”s willingness to help remove the obstacles hindering Cabinet formation "yet not through exerting pressure on Aoun."
The sources said Khalil, who met Aoun on Tuesday, intends to offer an initiative that calls on Aoun to give up a key Cabinet portfolio in exchange for keeping his son-in-law Jebran Bassil in the new government but without having to reappoint him as telecommunications minister.