Loyalty to Resistance: Situation Doesn't Allow Maneuvers against National Partnership in New Cabinet

Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc on Thursday warned against any “maneuvering” that might harm “national partnership” in the cabinet formation process, hinting that the March 8 camp will challenge the constitutionality of any government it does not approve of.

“Terrorism has gone too far in threatening the Lebanese, paralyzing economy and targeting the elements of strength, in a bid to pave the ground for foreign hegemony over the country,” the bloc warned after its weekly meeting, in a statement recited my MP Hasan Fadlallah.

The bloc called for “implementing a comprehensive, deterrent national plan by the official authorities and agencies, with the help of all Lebanese components, in order to preserve security, achieve stability and rein in terrorism and its crimes.”

Turning to the issue of the stalled cabinet formation process, the bloc said the formation of a political, all-embracing cabinet “requires all parties to show extra keenness and dynamism in order to overcome the obstacles that prevent representing all parties according to their real political weights.”

The bloc warned that the current situation “does not allow any maneuvering that might become a reason for challenging the cabinet's confessional legitimacy and constitutionality or that might harm real national partnership in terms of the structure of the government.”

Loyalty to Resistance said the ongoing efforts “must be focused on broadening cooperation among all political components in order to spare the country further complications on the eve of the presidential vote, which we are keen to hold on time.”

The bloc also tackled what it described as the “historic (memorandum of) understanding between Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement,” saying “it has successfully managed to overcome a lot of experiences amid critical junctures, due to the credibility of the two parties and the understanding that is based on mutual confidence.”

In this regard, Loyalty to Resistance called for “broadening and enhancing this understanding, which will lead to achieving the two parties' aspirations regarding national harmony.”

Commenting on the Geneva II peace talks between the Syrian regime and opposition, the bloc hoped “the dialogue sessions will lead to a political solution that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people."

The new government of Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam is expected to be announced on Thursday or over the weekend following the return of President Michel Suleiman from a trip to Tunisia.

An Nahar newspaper said Thursday that Suleiman and Salam put the final touches on the cabinet lineup during a meeting at Baabda Palace on Wednesday, their second in three days.

It quoted sources as saying that during their 90 minute meeting, the two officials prepared for the announcement of the decrees on a 24-member government based on the 8-8-8 formula and the rotation of portfolios.

The Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance, the Progressive Socialist Party and al-Mustaqbal movement have struck a deal to form a cabinet in which the country's three major camps would get eight ministers each and that the portfolios would rotate among the different sects.

But FPM leader MP Michel Aoun, who is a member of March 8, rejected the agreement, saying he was left out of the consultations. He has also opposed the rotation and held onto the energy ministry, which is led by his son-in-law Jebran Bassil.

Sources in the March 8 and 14 alliances expected all March 8 ministers – FPM, Hizbullah, Amal, Marada and Tashnag -- to withdraw from the cabinet in support for Aoun's demands.