Geagea Not Optimistic About Cabinet Formation, Says he has No Personal Problem with Bassil
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Wednesday wasn”t optimistic about the quick formation of a government and said he didn”t mind giving cabinet seats to election losers.
"I hope the picture would be clear at the end of (parliamentary) consultations on Thursday," Geagea said after meeting U.S. ambassador Michele Sison in Maarab.
Geagea added, however, "information that we have available does not bode well for an agreement on government formation."
He also urged President Michel Suleiman and PM-designate Saad Hariri to adopt any formula that would facilitate cabinet formation.
On the issue of giving cabinet seats to those who had lost the elections, the LF leader said: "There is no problem in breaking the rule … But in this case the door should be wide open to those who hadn”t had the chance to win the parliamentary elections."
He warned, however, that political "parties will fall in the trap of (deciding) to whom they want to give a cabinet seat."
Geagea preferred "to avoid discussing this subject because it wouldn”t be the end of the world if someone didn”t get a portfolio."
"I don”t have a personal problem with Telecommunications Minister Jebran Bassil," Geagea told reporters, stressing that the LF doesn”t want that ministry.
Meanwhile, Bassil announced during a press conference on Wednesday that he filed a lawsuit against the LF website for slander and libel.