Report: Aoun Likely to Call for Govt. Consultations this Week

President Michel Aoun will likely call this week for binding parliamentary consultations to choose a new premier, amid same old divisions between political parties on the candidate despite the country’s multiple crises necessitating swift action.

Al-Joumhouria daily on Tuesday quoted “well-informed” sources as saying that "in the coming hours" Aoun will call the parliamentary blocs for consultations to choose a premier this week.

“The president is preparing for this step because several parliamentary blocs have expressed reluctance to name a premier to be assigned and tasked with the formation of a new government,” said the sources.

They said that Speaker Nabih Berri was the only one to frankly declare support for ex-PM Saad Hariri for the post, while other parliamentary blocs preferred not to name any candidate until the date of consultations is set.

In addition to leading candidates for the PM post Saad Hariri and Nawaf Salam, ex-minister Khaled Qabbani emerged over the past hours as a potential nominee.

The Progressive Socialist Party, the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement are opposed to Hariri’s return as premier to lead the new government.

MTV reporter said that PSP leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat had met with Hariri a day earlier, and that Jumblat had expressed concern for Hariri not to lead a new government under the mandate of Aoun.

Hizbullah and the AMAL Movement are pushing for his return.

Hariri himself has declared that he did not want to be prime minister of a new government.