Report: Aoun Defies Difficulties Hampering Cabinet Line-Up
The presidential palace resumed in the last hours the activation of its contact channels in a bid to contribute to the facilitation of the obstacles that have so far hampered the formation of a new cabinet under the tenure of President Michel Aoun, al-Mustaqbal daily reported Friday.
Baabda Palace sources told the daily that efforts were intensified on Thursday with all political parties to solve the hurdle relating to the ministerial portfolio that will be allotted to the Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh.
Having stressed that Aoun is keen to “stop the waste of time and drain the Lebanese hopes for the new tenure,” the sources preferred not to dwell on what is being said about a deadline for the formation of the cabinet, saying “the President is concerned to have the government formed as fast as possible without further delay.”
They added that the President will spare no effort in contributing to the process of resolving the government obstacle, revealing that the “presidential efforts resumed momentum in the last hours and there are great efforts being made with Hizbullah, the AMAL Movement and Marada in an attempt to reach an alternative satisfactory option to the issue of Franjieh's insistence to be given one of three portfolios the telecommunications, energy or public works in the new line-up.
The discussions are ongoing, added the source and the results are supposed to crystallize in the coming hours.
02 December 2016, 17:42
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It is still not a constitutional state. By the constitution, the PM in consultation with the President of the Republic names his Council of Ministers, formulates a policy statement and submits both the Council and the Policy Statement to Parliament for a vote of confidence. If Little Sleiman is not in the mix, he does not have the votes to kill the government.
But deference is given by the other parties. Why? Because they are not political parties, but are fellow farmers working their farms. Ministerial positions are not public offices, but are "shares" like in a company. Sleiman cannot be slighted because he is a peer; a feudal heir and if he gets nothing, then the whole feudal system that is Lebanon is in danger and the political class knows it. So Lebanon remains a feudal farm, not a Republic. It is made so by this political class which must don name tags and titles to pin on each other because otherwise, you would not know that they are acting like a government.
