Battle Over Government Seats Nears End, Pending Agreement on Majority Cabinet Portfolios
After more than one month of intensive consultations to form a new government, the national unity cabinet was expected to be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday.
The leading daily An Nahar, which carried the report, said Prime Minister-designate Fouad Saniora, will on Sunday hold consultations with the pro-government ruling majority camp after having settled the issue with the opposition over the distribution of cabinet seats.
Saniora had received a list of candidates for the five ministerial portfolios allotted to Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun”s Change and Reform parliamentary bloc.
They are: Gebran Bassil (telecommunications), Mario Aoun (social affairs), MP Elias Skaff (agriculture), Alan Tabourian (energy), Issam Abou Jamra (deputy premier).
An Nahar quoted Saniora circles as confirming late Saturday that there were "No difficult obstacles" facing the cabinet line-up.
The positive atmosphere emerged following a visit by Saniora to Aoun on Saturday after which the premier said he was confident that a national unity government would be announced soon.
"The clock has started ticking for the formation of a government," Saniora told reporters after talks with Aoun that lasted two and a half hours.
"It”s an extraordinary step under extraordinary conditions and we will work hard to make it succeed," he said.
Saniora circles described the meeting as "excellent," adding that the two leaders discussed issues beyond the cabinet portfolios — "visions for the future" of Lebanon.
Saniora also tackled with a Hizbullah delegation on Saturday the party”s portfolios in the new cabinet.
Hizbullah”s three seats include the ministries of labor and youth and sports.
The Hizbullah delegation named MP Mohammed Fneish for the labor ministry and said it would later announce its candidates for the two other cabinet posts.
Meanwhile, the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat said Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told Saniora during a meeting between the two men late Saturday that he wants Fawzi Salloukh for the interior ministry and Mohammed Khalifeh for the health, adding that he would later announce his candidate for the industry portfolio.