Report: Suleiman, Hariri Support Cabinet Session to Renew Salameh’s Mandate

President Michel Suleiman and Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri have given their consent to a proposal to hold an extraordinary cabinet session to renew the mandate of Central Bank governor Riyad Salameh, An Nahar daily said Wednesday.

The newspaper reported that Suleiman and Hariri accepted such a proposal as an alternative to Speaker Nabih Berri’s call to hold a parliamentary session that in addition to the mandate’s renewal has 48 other items on the agenda.

Berri’s move has drawn attacks by the March 14 forces who accuse the speaker of seeking to give the parliament executive authorities.

Sources involved in the efforts to call for an extraordinary government session told An Nahar that a cabinet meeting is the best solution to keep Salameh in his post and show the consensus among the different parties over efforts to safeguard the Lebanese economy.

Hariri did not mind to invite to a cabinet session that has the single item on its agenda if all the involved parties wished to do so as the best constitutional move to renew Salameh’s mandate that expires end of July, the daily said.

Suleiman held talks with the Central Bank governor on Tuesday. A Baabda palace statement said they discussed the country’s financial situation.