Report: Bassil Tells Salam Change and Reform Not Part of March 8
Caretaker Energy Minister Jebran Bassil has reportedly informed Premier-designate Tammam Salam that the Change and Reform bloc was no longer part of the March 8 alliance.
Al-Joumhouria newspaper said Bassil told Salam during a meeting they held on Tuesday that the Free Patriotic Movement's conditions in the cabinet line-up were separate from those set by Hizbullah and Amal movement.
Bassil asked that the FPM be represented according to its parliamentary weight but the PM-designate rejected such a request, reiterating that he could not copycat the parliament in the cabinet.
The Constitution states that all sects should be fairly represented in the government, Salam told Bassil, according to al-Joumhouria.
The PM-designate stressed that the Constitution does not state the level of representation of political or parliamentary blocs.
Al-Joumhouria's report came as An Nahar daily quoted sources as saying that Berri, who is the head of Amal, has asked for five representatives for Hizbullah and the movement in the new government.
The speaker reiterated in remarks to several dailies that he disagreed with FPM leader Michel Aoun on several local issues, mainly the cabinet formation process and the representation of the March 8 alliance's members.
“This means that the March 8 team that brought together Amal movement, Hizbullah and the FPM are no longer a unified team," Berri added.
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