New cabinet will be one of true partnership
Aoun says nobody consulted him on government formula
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday the next government would guarantee true partnership, adding that the formation process had reached the final steps. Speaking during a graduation ceremony, he stressed that the cabinet’s formation course “may take some time, however, we are on the right track.”
Nasrallah underscored the need for the next government to tackle the “Lebanese people’s pressing priorities, rather than the priorities of foreign powers.”
Meanwhile, the cabinet’s formation process moved to the stage of distributing ministerial portfolios and assigning ministers following an agreement on a 15-10-5 cabinet shape-up, opposition and governmental figures told The Daily Star on Thursday.
However, the expected announcement of the government’s shape within a few days could be delayed given conflicting reports by opposition groups on the agreed cabinet’s structure.
While Amal Movement and Hizbullah expressed optimism about the probable formation of the government within the next few days, Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) officials said talks with party leader MP Michel Aoun on the cabinet’s structure had not yet taken place.
Both Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri said Wednesday that Lebanese politicians have agreed on the shape of a new national unity cabinet and will complete the allocation of ministerial portfolios within days.
But Aoun said Wednesday night that not a single official had consulted him on the agreed government formula.
Amal Movement MP Ali Bazzi told The Daily Star on Thursday that Lebanese groups reached an agreement on the 15-10-5 cabinet shape-up, adding that only technical issues remained regarding the distribution of ministerial portfolios.
Bazzi, who highlighted the opposition’s unified stance regarding the cabinet’s formation course, expressed optimism that the process would be completed “within a day or two.”
The Amal MP also stressed that opposition groups agreed on the allotment of shares.
The 15-10-5 formula grants the March 14 coalition 15 ministers, the opposition 10 and the president five, which ensures that Sleiman would hold the tipping voice while neither the March 14 Forces nor the opposition would be granted an absolute majority or veto power.
A well-informed government source told The Daily Star on Thursday that Sleiman would be granted the interior and defense posts.
Ziyad Baroud, a Maronite, and Elias Murr an Orthodox would retain their respective posts as interior and defense ministers as part of the president’s share, the source said.
The source added that the president’s share would include three other ministers of state, a catholic, a Sunni and a Shiite.
Meanwhile, FPM MP Nabil Nicholas told The Daily Star on Thursday that no proposals regarding either the cabinet’s shape or the distribution of ministerial portfolios has been discussed with Aoun. Nicholas denied that the 15-10-5 cabinet’s formula was proposed to Aoun, adding that deliberations on the cabinet’s structure were ongoing.
When asked if Hariri came forward to Aoun with any proposals, Nicholas stressed that no discussions with the premier-designate on the cabinet’s structure or the distribution of ministerial portfolios took place.
Avoiding to comment on the FPM’s demand for proportional representation, Nicholas, echoing Bazzi, underscored the opposition’s united stance.
Nicholas added that opposition groups have agreed on the “political headlines” for the upcoming period.
“The negotiations on shares and portfolios are secondary; the priority is to reach an agreement [with the parliamentary majority] on the political headlines which would lead to an accord on the cabinet’s formation,” Nicholas said.
The FPM MP also denied circulating media reports on Thursday claiming that Aoun’s insistence that caretaker Telecommunication Minister Gebran Bassil retains his post, remained the last obstacle to the cabinet’s formation.