Date: May 29, 2018 Source: The Daily Star Lebanon: MPs, blocs submit their Cabinet wish lists BEIRUT: As MPs and parliamentary bloc representatives emerged from meetings with Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri over the Cabinet formation Monday, some declared their requests for particular ministerial portfolios, while others were reticent to reveal details of the discussions. Here’s what MPs who spoke to reporters had to say after the consultations:Deputy Speaker Elie Ferzli Free Patriotic Movement-affiliated“I told [Hariri] that I cannot imagine Parliament without an opposition. If there is no opposition, we should work on creating one,” Ferzli said. “Reflecting all parliamentary blocs in the Cabinet does not serve the country’s interests, nor Parliament’s basic role of monitoring and accountability.” Former Prime Minister Tammam Salam – Future Movement-affiliatedSalam said he wanted to see the government formation process move quickly, but warned against undue haste in the selection of portfolios and ministers. He raised with Hariri the importance of having ministries and portfolios rotated between parties. “We have adopted rotation in previous governments and the outcome was positive,” Salam said. MP Anwar Khalil Amal MovementSpeaking on behalf of Speaker Nabih Berri’s Development and Liberation parliamentary bloc, Khalil called for a wider representation of women in Cabinet. The Amal Movement-led bloc suggested to Hariri that a quarter of Cabinet’s seats be granted to women, Khalil said.MP Bahia Hariri Future MovementRepresenting the Future bloc, Bahia Hariri also voiced her support for women to be represented fairly in the new government. She called for the rapid formation of a “national entente” government capable of pushing the country forward economically and politically. MP Gebran Bassil Free Patriotic MovementThe FPM leader called for his 29-member Strong Lebanon bloc to be granted either the Interior or Finance portfolio. “We have been deprived of being allotted the Finance or Interior ministries for years,” he said. “It is about time our bloc be granted one.” Bassil voiced his opposition to the practice of allotting certain portfolios to specific sects, saying that no party should have a monopoly on any ministries. MP Mohammad Raad HezbollahRaad, the head of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, asked for an “important” ministry to be allotted to the bloc and reiterated his party’s stance that the new government needs a “Planning Ministry.” Asked about the recent U.S. sanctions against Hezbollah, Raad said that the United States’ “influence will remain outside Lebanon.” MP Teymour Joumblatt Progressive Socialist PartyAs chairman of the Progressive Socialist Party’s Democratic Gathering bloc, Joumblatt called for the speedy formation of a “national entente” government in order to deal with the country’s pressing economic issues, ranging from electricity to the garbage crisis and the fight against corruption.MP Farid Haykal Khazen Marada-affiliatedKhazen spoke on behalf of the newly formed National bloc that includes the Marada Movement and asked Hariri for two seats in Cabinet – one for a Christian minister and another for a Muslim minister, to reflect the bloc’s diverse nature. Khazen said his bloc requested two services ministries. MP Hagop Pakradounian Tashnag Party The leader of the Armenian Tashnag Party called for a larger Cabinet of 32 members, in which the Armenian community should be represented with two ministerial positions. MP Jamil al-Sayyed Hezbollah-affiliatedThe ex-General Security chief – one of four top security officials previously arrested on suspicion of involvement in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri – stressed the need for cooperation to smooth the way for the Cabinet’s work. He said Saad Hariri’s approach to him had been “as if nothing had happened between us.” MP Paula Yacoubian Sabaa PartyThe new Parliament’s sole civil society MP criticized the fact that almost all bloc representatives had expressed interest in their blocs being apportioned ministerial posts in a government that could not possibly accommodate all of their requests.