Report: Hariri Wants Cabinet Share Comparable to Aoun’s on ‘Power Balance’ Grounds
In light of insistence to allocate a share in the new government for President Michel Aoun separate from the one allocated to the Strong Lebanon bloc, demands were raised that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri should also have a share for the Premiership separate from that of al-Mustaqbal bloc, the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat daily reported on Thursday.
Sources close to Hariri told the daily: “President Aoun (founder of the Free Patriotic Movement) considers a ministerial share separate from that to be allocated to the (FPM’s) Strong Lebanon bloc, which was not stipulated in the constitution.
“Therefore, Hariri (head of al-Mustaqbal Movement) must also have a ministerial quota separate from al-Mustaqbal bloc’s to ensure a balance of power,” they said.
The sources stressed saying the share of President and PM won’t negatively affect the distribution of portfolios on the parliamentary blocs.
“Instead of allocating five portfolios to the President, a better solution would be to give him three ministerial seats and allocate another three to the PM,” argued the sources.
Early this week, answering a question on whether al-Mustaqbal bloc will be granted six ministerial posts, Hariri told reporters after meeting Aoun: “No one can deny the presence of al-Mustaqbal bloc, but there should also be a share for the premier.”
“Hariri’s demand met support from former PM Najib Miqati, and were not exactly rejected by Aoun,” according to the daily.
Meanwhile, MP Mario Aoun of the FPM saw it as the beginning for “chaos,” he said: “We are not used to having ministerial shares to the Prime Minister and Speaker, otherwise we are in a state governed by chaos and quotas.”
For his part, Miqati voiced calls on all political parties to “facilitate the mission of Hariri in forming a new government.”
As per constitutional norms, Hariri kicked off parliamentary consultations to explore the demands of the parliamentary blocs regarding the line-up and policies of the new government.
