Tug-of-War over Cabinet Gets Underway
A political tug-of-war kicked off Friday between the ruling majority and the Hizbullah-led opposition over how to divide up cabinet portfolios in a new national unity government.
Reports circulated that Hizbullah could give one cabinet post to a non-Shiite opposition figure. In return, Hizbullah wants the majority to hold one Shiite seat.
The opposition in a statement also supported an offer made by Islamic scholar Fathi Yakan who suggested the "need to appoint a Sunni opposition figure from Beirut … to defend the interests of the citizens of the capital."
"It is not acceptable to restrict representation of the capital (Beirut) to one party," Yakan has said.
Other opposition sources said Hizbullah tends toward naming two non-Shiite cabinet ministers – a Sunni and a Druze.
Meanwhile, leaders from the ruling March 14 coalition were preoccupied all day Thursday with consultations among the various pro-government parliamentary blocs in an effort to pick 16 names that would represent the majority in the new government.
According to March 14 sources, cabinet seats were going to be divided up as follows:
– Six Sunni ministers: Fouad Saniora, Mohammed Safadi, Samir al-Jisr, Jamal al-Jarrah or Hassan al-Sabaa and Ahmed Fatfat.
– Three Maronite ministers: Jihad Azour, Butros Harb and Joe Sarkis.
– Three Druze ministers: Ghazi Aridi, Akram Shehayeb and Wael Abu Faour.
– Two Greek Orthodox ministers: Farid Makari and Atef Majdalani or Tareq Mitri.
– One Catholic minister: Michel Mkattaf.
– One Armenian minister: Jean Oghassabian.
Meanwhile, the following names were being circulated by some opposition sources:
– Two Maronite seats: Gebran Bassil and Nabil Nicola.
– Orthodox seat: Issam Abu Jamra.
– Catholic seat: Elias Skaff
– Armenian seat: Hagop Pakradounian.
Sources said the Shiite seats await the majority”s response. They were likely to be Ali Hasan Khalil, Mohammed Jawad Khalifeh and Jihad Murtada, in addition to two or three names that would represent Hizbullah – Mohammed Fneish, Hussein Hajj Hasan. The third was yet to be decided.
While the majority was reportedly not willing to give up the justice, finance, education, labor and telecommunications ministries, the opposition purportedly wants the labor, public works and social affairs ministries in addition to a key ministry – either finance or defense.
Skaff was said to be after the agriculture ministry.