Report: No Imminent Solution as Cabinet Formation Drags Out

The gridlock of forming Lebanon’s government may “prolong further” shall political parties adamantly adhere to their positions, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.

A senior source who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in remarks to the daily that “solutions must be found, the country can not wait any longer. If (political) positions keep on escalating, I fear that the formation will be delayed further. We cannot estimate the magnitude of repercussions as a result.”

Meanwhile, a prominent ministerial source said: “Despite the efforts being made by caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, the adamant positions of parties indicate that the gap is still large between them.”

Bassil has met with several officials lately in a bid to convince the rival parties to accept a settlement based on naming a “consensus” Sunni minister.

The government was on the verge of formation on October 29 after the Lebanese Forces accepted the portfolios that were assigned to it but a last-minute hurdle over the representation of pro-Hizbullah Sunni MPs surfaced.

Hizbullah has insisted that the six Sunni MPs should be given a seat in the government, refraining from providing PM-designate Saad Hariri with the names of its own ministers in a bid to press him.

Hariri was designated to form a government on May 24, but the disagreement between parties over quotas and ministerial shares have so far delayed his mission.