Cabinet formation remains in deadlock following fruitless negotiations
MPs say stalemate could be solved in current ‘positive atmosphere’
The distribution of portfolios in the new cabinet remains at a stalemate, after further fruitless negotiations on Monday. Newly appointed French Ambassador to Lebanon Dani Pieton said Monday France was ready, upon request, to offer the Lebanese assistance with the cabinet formation. Following a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Pieton said Lebanon was on the agenda of French-Syrian talks. France, he said, was committed to preserving Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence.
Earlier this month, the French Presidency’s Secretary General Claude Gueant visited Syria while Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem held talks with French officials in Paris.
Pieton informed Berri that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will visit Lebanon on Thursday while Syrian President Bashar Assad is expected to visit Paris soon.
On Monday, Pieton also held talks with Premier-designate Saad Hariri, caretaker Premier Fouad Siniora and Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel.
Following the meetings, Pieton emphasized France’s support for Lebanon and expressed hope in the prompt formation of a cabinet to enable the government to tackle pressing social and economic issues.
Commenting on the cabinet-formation, Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel said the atmosphere alternated between optimism and pessimism as some obstacles still hampered the process.
Gemayel said the government should reflect national agreement and unity to preserve Lebanon’s best interests.
Meanwhile, Phalange Party MP Elie Marouni said he thought the cabinet-forming process could conclude by the end of next week.
Marouni added that the Phalange Party would be granted better representation in the new cabinet and might be assigned one or two ministerial portfolios.
Similarly, Batroun MP Botrous Harb said the government could be formed by either the end of this week or early next week, given the prevailing positive atmosphere.
Harb added that offering candidates who failed in the elections a seat in the cabinet opposed constitutional norms, a reference to Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun’s demand to reappoint as minister his son-in-law caretaker Telecommunications Minister Jebran Bassil.
Bassil, who ran for a seat in his hometown Batroun, lost the elections to Harb and Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra.
“The calculations of Aoun differ from ours as we consider the country’s interests above any personal ones,” Harb said.
Harb stressed that one of the obstacles facing the cabinet formation lies in Aoun’s demands to be assigned the Telecommunication Ministry.
“However, I believe that the premier-designate is determined not to grant the FPM the telecommunications portfolio,” Harb said.
Following talks with President Michel Sleiman, Hariri said on Saturday that his meetings with Aoun “will materialize soon.”
“These meetings are held for Lebanon’s sake,” he added.
The premier-designate told reporters that the discussions over the makeup of the cabinet “will continue through the next three or four days and a breakthrough is imminent.”
Aoun and Hariri held their most recent meeting on the government formation late Friday.
Reports of a positive atmosphere were echoed across the political divide by Reform and Change bloc MP Fadi Aawar.
Aawar said he too expected the formation of the government to take place next week. Highlighting the positive regional situation, he called on politicians to benefit from it.
Also, Change and Reform bloc MP Salim Salhab voiced hope on Monday that the cabinet would be formed within this week.
He added that the upcoming meeting between Hariri and Aoun might be held after the president’s return from Spain on Wednesday.
The Central News Agency quoted on Friday an FPM source as saying that Aoun awaited a response over several proposals he submitted to Hariri concerning the FPM’s share in the next cabinet.
The source added that if the response to one of those suggestions were positive, the cabinet was see light soon. Salhab added that the Telecommunications Ministry was not the only remaining complication.
On Monday, Aoun said he was not in favor of Hariri stepping down for a second time from his post as premier-desigate if the deadlock persisted.