Report: Government Formation Falters
Forming a new government in Lebanon seems to falter further despite the country’s need for a reform cabinet much hoped for to begin the process of recovery in the crisis-hit nation.
Media reports close to Baabda Presidential Palace told al-Joumhouria daily on Monday that no progress was recorded from any side or party in relation to the governmental file.
They said Baabda circles are “waiting to hear something new” from PM-designate Saad Hariri after his foreign trip abroad, apparently referring to Hariri’s recent unannounced visit to Turkey where he held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan.
On Sunday, Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil lashed out at Hariri, and warned of a perceived attempt to return the country to the “pre-2005 era.”
“We do not entrust Hariri alone with reform and to them this government is aimed at seizing control of the country and returning us to the pre-2005 era,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hariri’s al-Mustaqbal Movement said the PM-designate has already presented the line-up of a reformist cabinet to President Michel Aoun.
Hariri accused Bassil of triggering “obstacles” and “sectarian and racist standards.”
For his part, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi reiterated his call for President Michel Aoun and Hariri to hold a “personal reconciliation meeting.”
Rahi said that domestic and foreign obstacles should vanish before the salvation of Lebanon’s fate and reviving the state of institutions.
Source: Naharnet
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