Hariri's Meetings Fail to Achieve Cabinet Breakthrough

No progress has been made in the Cabinet formation process despite Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri's series of meetings with the political parties in recent days, media reports said.

“The meetings that Hariri is making need a different management, seeing as the problem is not between him and the Lebanese Forces, nor between him and (Druze leader Walid) Jumblat. He rather supports their demands. The real problem is with President Michel Aoun and Free Patriotic Movement chief Minister Jebran Bassil,” informed sources told al-Akhbar daily in remarks published Thursday.

“All these meetings have not achieved even a slight progress in the Cabinet formation process and the insistence of each party on its demands will not lead to achieving any breakthrough,” sources informed on the formation process said.

And as media reports said that Hariri will visit Baabda over the next two days, LF sources told al-Akhbar that “Hariri backs the LF and stands by it, but he does not want that to be a reason for any dispute between him and the president.”

Hariri was tasked with forming a new government on May 24.

The main obstacles hindering the cabinet formation process are the share that should be given to the LF and whether or not Lebanese Democratic Party chief MP Talal Arslan should be given one of the three Druze seats.