Consultations to Form New Govt. Start next Week as Miqati Says Resignation 'Protects Lebanon'

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

Consultations to form a new government are expected to kick off next week in light of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's resignation on Friday, reported various media outlets Saturday.

The premier told the daily: “I decided to resign because I believe it is the best way to protect Lebanon.”

“History will judge whether I made the right decision,” he added.

Miqati is expected to meet with President Michel Suleiman Saturday in order to submit his written resignation.

Meanwhile, An Nahar daily Saturday said that consultations to form a new government will not begin before mid next week due to Suleiman's presence abroad.

The president is scheduled to attend an Arab League summit in Qatar on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Miqati announced his resignation on Friday night in light of the cabinet's failure to approve the decisions to form of an authority to oversee the parliamentary elections and extend the term of Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi.

He said that all political powers “must assume their responsibilities in order to steer Lebanon away from the unknown.”

Reactions to Miqati's step were mixed with some sides calling for the formation of a salvation government and others condemning his step at such a critical time in the region and ahead of the parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for June 9.

Comments 3
Thumb lebanon_first 23 March 2013, 09:02

Mikati is very smart. He stands to gain a great deal by choosing the "RIFI" argument to resign. That certainly gained him voices in the sunni street.
Also he made sure to pass the salary scale before which gave him a great deal of voices amongst civil servants.
As a prime minister he is subject to constant criticism. Not good for parliament. Now he can focus on what his real agenda is: create a centrist block and run in parliament.

Missing mohammad_ca 23 March 2013, 09:02

It's best to have this care taker government until after parliamentary elections.

Default-user-icon wea sel! wea zel! wea zel! .. (Guest) 23 March 2013, 14:18

"Protects Lebanon" has become Mikati's new favorite weasel word. It is a variant of Hassin's patented "the Islamic Resistance Protects Lebanon" which especially nowadays have much more resonance than ever before because as everyone knows the sewers have fantastic acoustic properties and it reverbs forever.