Aoun Says his Bloc’s Ministers to Attend Cabinet Session but Leaves Door Open to All Options
Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun announced on Wednesday that the ministers representing his Change and Reform bloc in the government would participate in a cabinet session later in the day.
“We decided to participate in today’s cabinet session because of the wage boost decree that has been submitted by the labor minister to the government,” Aoun said following talks with Marada chief Suleiman Franjieh, Tashnag Secretary-General Hovig Mekhitarian and Lebanese Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan in Rabieh.
“We hope that the decree would be approved so that everyone could enjoy the holidays,” the MP said.
The FPM ministers had boycotted the last cabinet session to protest what they called the poor performance of Premier Najib Miqati and the government. They had set several conditions for their return, including the approval of the salary raise for public and private sector employees proposed by Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas.
However, Aoun hinted that his ministers would boycott the sessions again if their demands were not met.
“We will discuss about the demands at a large-scale meeting … all options are possible within a certain timeframe,” he told reporters. “We will then decide our next step.”
In a confirmation of media reports that Marada, Tashnag and LDP rejected any possible resignation of the Change and Reform bloc ministers, Aoun said: “There are different viewpoints within the bloc.”
“We will decide the negative and positive aspects and take the decision,” he said. “It’s better for us to consult” with the other members of the bloc.
When asked about the PM’s criticism that “not everyone preaching reform is necessarily a reformist,” Aoun said: “Let Miqati tell us about his reform project and let’s see if we would support it or not.”
“Let him first end overt and covert violations,” the FPM chief added.
Miqati said on Twitter on Tuesday that “people have the ability to differentiate between those seeking to put the country’s interest above all else and those continuously seeking to build personal loyalties.”
He stressed that accountability should be “according to (legal) norms and not for the sake of revenge.”
His comments came the same day Aoun slammed the government’s performance, saying it might collapse “if it continued down this path.”
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