Cabinet Faces Several Options as Hariri Stresses Commitment to Constitution
The pace of consultations that Saad Hariri is expected to launch with parliamentary blocs next week will most probably move slower than during the Mustaqbal movement leader”s first appointment as PM-designate.
Pan Arab-daily al-Hayat quoted observers as saying on Thursday that Hariri”s statement "we now face a new challenge" in his acceptance speech the day before meant that the PM-designate does not intend to start consultations from where they ended last time.
Well-informed sources told An Nahar that there are internal efforts aimed at defusing the crisis and finding several government structures based on the 15-10-5 cabinet formula.
The sources added that a meeting held between President Michel Suleiman, Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and Minister Jebran Bassil on Tuesday was intended to defuse tension between the majority and opposition and help find a way out of the crisis to avoid foreign interference in Lebanon”s affairs.
However, a solution seems to be farfetched and things seem to be more complicated than the first time Hariri was appointed PM-designate. His speech was stern on Wednesday and An Nahar said a meeting between him and Speaker Nabih Berri at the president”s office in Baabda was characterized by estrangement.
Berri stayed for only a couple of minutes following Hariri”s arrival to the office, according to the newspaper, which also realized that the premier-designate used the phrase "national unity cabinet" once in his speech when he referred to the opposition”s conditions that prevented formation of such a government.
Speaking at an iftar banquet in Qoreitem on Wednesday, Hariri saluted his allies in the March 14 Forces for nominating him. He said this proved they were "a united entity with one outlook over the future of Lebanon."
He said he will "hold consultations based on the constitution and cooperate with the president on formation of the government."
Hariri will visit former prime ministers as part of protocol procedures on Thursday and is expected to launch parliamentary consultations on Wednesday following Eid al-Fitr.