Hariri Adviser Hits Out at Aoun after FPM Bloc Statement

PM-designate Saad Hariri’s media adviser Hussein al-Wajeh on Tuesday placed the blame for the new government’s delay on the shoulders of President Michel Aoun.

“The Lebanese no longer understand the underlying reasons behind the president’s evasion and his reluctance to carry out his constitutional duty of facilitating the government’s formation and signing the formation decrees in agreement with the PM-designate,” al-Wajeh said in a tweet, in an apparent response to a statement issued by the Free Patriotic Movement-led Strong Lebanon bloc.

“In the face of this situation, the Lebanese raise serious questions on whether the president truly wants to form a government or that he is withholding formation, the same as they withheld the presidential election for two and a half years,” the adviser added.

The Strong Lebanon bloc had earlier in the day blasted Hariri over the government formation crisis.

“The Lebanese no longer understand the underlying reasons behind the PM-designate’s inaction and reluctance to carry out his constitutional duty of forming the government in agreement with the president of the republic,” the bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly e-meeting.