Opposition Mulls Package Deal on Cabinet Lineup
The Hizbullah-led March 8 coalition was discussing a "package deal" on a Cabinet lineup which states that the Opposition handles the distribution of the portfolios among itself, the daily An-Nahar reported Wednesday.
Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun met Sunday evening with Opposition figures, including the political advisors to Speaker Nabih Berri and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, to assess talks between the former army general and PM-designate Saad Hariri.
Opposition sources told pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat in remarks published Wednesday that "there is a huge possibility to reach an understanding with the premier-designate" on a Cabinet lineup.
"This, however, does not mean that the possibility of the emergence of differences was unlikely," one Opposition source stressed.
Asharq al-Awsat newspaper also quoted senior Opposition sources as saying that the ministerial portfolios offered by Hariri to Aoun are likely to "cause problems between him and his allies in the Opposition on the one hand, and MP Walid Jumblat on the other."
The sources pointed out that Aoun rejected a proposal that suggested swapping ministries.