Date: Aug 27, 2018 Source: The Daily Star Aoun says Hariri can form Cabinet if he follows set criteria: Reports BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun said in comments published Monday that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri can come up with a Cabinet lineup that suits all political parties if he follows a unified criteria for the allotment of ministerial seats in the government-formation process. “President Aoun stressed that Hariri is capable of finalizing a Cabinet lineup that satisfies everyone if he uses one criterion,” Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat newspaper quoted Aoun as saying to visitors at Baabda Palace. “At the end, we can work for Lebanon’s interests without [compromising] the interests of any country or side.” Aoun, according to the paper, said that he generally doesn’t interfere in what the premier-designate is doing, but that he had two requests for Hariri: to use a unified standard in the government and not to dismiss any side in the formation process. He was referring to repeated calls for a Cabinet that reflects the results of the May 6 parliamentary elections. Aoun’s comments come as the government formation has entered its third month of deadlock. Hariri, who was tasked with forming the government following May's elections, has been stymied in his attempts as he has struggled to meet competing demands from various political sides. The obstacles to government formation have centered on the issue of representation in the next Cabinet. They have included the dispute between the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement over the allocation of Christian seats, the question of Sunni representation from outside the Future Movement, and the Druze dispute between Progressive Socialist Party head Walid Joumblatt and his rival, MP Talal Arslan. The latter two have been all but resolved, while the wrangling between the LF and the FPM continues. Those who visited Aoun, the paper noted, said the president expressed his surprise that some parties wanted a Cabinet share bigger than their size “at the expense of others.” With no breakthrough in sight, the president is said to be planning to a series of proposals that would help resolve the government formation crisis. This comes after recent reports that Aoun may eventually move to revoke Hariri’s designation. Nevertheless, according to Asharq Al-Awsat, Aoun said that he didn’t want to go into detail about such a potential action at the time being. “The five-to-six-month period [for the formation] might be an acceptable time, but the country can’t be kept in this situation much longer,” Aoun said.