ANSD : ‘Something abnormal’ in formation of govt: Khalil

TUE 23 - 4 - 2024

Date: Aug 14, 2018
Source: The Daily Star

‘Something abnormal’ in formation of govt: Khalil

_{Hussein Dakroub| The Daily Star}
BEIRUT: Despite making reported headway in the problem of Christian representation, the formation of a new government Monday appeared to still be bogged down in the problem of Druze representation, as well as the Lebanese Forces’ insistence on being granted a sovereign ministry, political sources said.

Caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil, a key political aide to Speaker Nabih Berri, sounded pessimistic about any imminent breakthrough in the government formation stalemate, saying the problems over the representation of the Christian and Druze communities, as well as Sunni lawmakers not affiliated with the Future Movement, have not yet been solved.

“There is a big problem over the formation of the government. The obstacles over the Christian, Druze and Sunni opposition [representation] have not been resolved yet,” Khalil said in an interview with Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen television channel Monday night.

“The [Lebanese] Forces is still demanding a sovereign portfolio or the position of the deputy prime minister among the four portfolios.”

“We have begun feeling that there is something abnormal over the formation of the Lebanese government. There are major changes taking place in the region,” he added.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is set to hold at least three important meetings this week that could prove crucial for breaking the government formation impasse, now in its third month, as political rivals refuse to budge on their demands for key ministerial portfolios.

Hariri’s expected meeting with former MP Walid Joumblatt, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, will focus on resolving the problem of Druze representation amid insistence by Joumblatt on naming the three ministers reserved for the Druze sect in a 30-member government, a political source familiar with the Cabinet formation process said.

Similarly, Hariri’s get-together with LF leader Samir Geagea, who returned to Beirut Monday after a private visit abroad, will deal with the LF’s insistence on being granted a sovereign ministry after it was reported to have accepted four ministerial portfolios in the proposed solution to the problem of Christian representation, the source said.

The prime minister-designate is set to hold another meeting with caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, the second in less than a week, before the head of the Free Patriotic Movement leaves for Moscow at the weekend for talks with Russian officials on the Russian proposal for returning Syrian refugees to their home country, the source added.

Hariri’s icebreaking meeting with Bassil last week was reported to have made progress toward resolving the problem of Christian representation, which is being fiercely contested between the FPM and the LF.A source at Baabda Palace told The Daily Star Sunday that the proposed solution to the problem of Christian representation calls for allocating the LF four ministries – two of them key portfolios – but not a sovereign ministry.

Hariri is also expected to meet with officials from the Marada Movement, headed by former MP Sleiman Frangieh, whose party is insisting on either retaining the Public Works Ministry or being allocated the Energy Ministry instead.

MP Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, said Hariri would launch a renewed push to form the government.

“We have received some reports recently that the prime minister-designate will begin a new movement at the beginning of this week to adopt criteria he deems fit to from the government,” Raad said at a ceremony inaugurating a new building of Maydoun’s municipality in the Western Bekaa region. “We wish him good luck and success. Hopefully, we will see a government soon. We have wasted precious time,” he added.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah is expected to touch on the Cabinet formation crisis in a televised speech Tuesday night on the occasion of the 12th anniversary of Israel’s 2006 War on Lebanon.

MP Mario Aoun, a member of the FPM’s Strong Lebanon bloc headed by Bassil, said a breakthrough in the problem of Christian representation did not mean a final solution to the deadlock.

“A minor improvement has occurred on the Christian front from last week until today but without a final solution being at hand,” Aoun told a local radio station. “There is no hope that the government will be formed in the short term and there is nothing final in this respect.”

He said the LF’s latest harsh criticism of Bassil was aimed at pressuring the FPM to make concessions to the LF. “But this will not happen,” Aoun said, adding that the FPM still supported a demand by MP Talal Arslan, Joumblatt’s Druze rival, to be named a minister.

MP Elias Bou Saab from the Strong Lebanon bloc said the FPM would not cede any of its Cabinet shares to the LF.

“We insist on our full share [in Cabinet]. This is our right and we will not give anyone from it,” Bou Saab told MTV Monday night.

MP Bilal Abdullah from Joumblatt’s parliamentary Democratic Gathering bloc said a meeting between Hariri and the PSP leader could take place at any time. “Channels between the two sides are open. When there is a need for the meeting, it will be held,” he told the Central News Agency.

Abdullah said the PSP’s insistence on naming the three Druze ministers had not changed.

Caretaker Education Minister Marwan Hamadeh from Joumblatt’s bloc said the new government could be formed soon if the Druze Cabinet representation was solely confined to the PSP and the LF was granted a sovereign ministry. He accused Syria of pressuring some internal players to exert pressure on Joumblatt so that he accepts naming Arslan as minister.

MP Wehbi Qatisha from the LF’s bloc implicitly blamed Bassil for the government standoff.

“We don’t constitute any obstacle [to government formation], but rather we facilitate the prime minister-designate[’s job]. The obstacle does not exist with the Lebanese Forces, the Progressive Socialist Party, or the Future Movement,” Qatisha told Asharq radio station.

“The one causing the obstacle is the one who is trying to apply the one-party system in Lebanon along the pattern of the Syrian regime and the former Iraqi regime. This cannot be applied in Lebanon. The country cannot be ruled except by balance and consensus. Therefore, the obstacle will drag on.”

Nasrallah expected to urge expedited Cabinet formation

_{The Daily Star}
BEIRUT: Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah is expected to call on the government to expedite the new Cabinet’s formation without counting on foreign powers to help, a local daily reported Tuesday.

Nasrallah is scheduled to make a television appearance at 9 p.m. Tuesday to mark the 12th anniversary of the group’s “victory” in its 2006 war with Israel.

Annahar newspaper reported, based on undisclosed information it received, that Nasrallah is expected to reiterate the need to speed up the formation process, following a near three-month deadlock, with respect to “the results of the parliamentary elections” last May. The newspaper also claimed that Nasrallah will brush off reports that his party is against granting the Lebanese Forces a sovereign ministry, and instead say that whether the LF receives one is not Hezbollah’s decision.

Nasrallah's interview is set to take place after the LF have demanded that they receive one of the four so-called sovereign ministries in the new government – Foreign, Interior, Finance and Defense – which are currently held by the Free Patriotic Movement, Future Movement, Amal Movement and the president’s share, respectively. And the LF and Hezbollah are staunch rivals, as the former is a close ally of Saudi Arabia’s while the latter serves as Iran’s proxy in both Lebanon and the region.

Finally, Annahar reported that Nasrallah “will focus on ... not counting on [foreign countries]” to help form the new government.

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