Kataeb urges govt. within 2 weeks as Franjieh calls on FPM to cede energy portfolio

The Kataeb parliamentary bloc on Monday called on PM-designate Najib Mikati to “submit his government line-up within two weeks,” as MP Tony Franjieh of the Independent National bloc called on the Free Patriotic Movement to allow another party to be in charge of the energy ministerial portfolio.

“Waiting would be a collective crime committed by the political parties against the people… and the PM-designate must submit his government line-up within two weeks,” Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel said after meeting Mikati during the non-binding consultations.

President Michel Aoun and Mikati “should shoulder their responsibilities should the obstruction continue,” Gemayel added.

Warning that “the state’s disintegration cannot wait for four months,” Gemayel said his bloc told Mikati that it is “not concerned with taking part in a government that resembles the previous governments.”

“We call for forming a government as soon as possible,” Gemayel added.

Franjieh meanwhile said that “the energy ministry is a priority, the same as the education ministry.”

“We won’t demand these two portfolios, but we hope those who will handle them will be at the level of responsibility,” Franjieh added, calling on the FPM to allow another party to be in charge of the energy portfolio.

“The economic plan contains a lot of positive points… and we want a plan that protects the weak,” Franjieh went on to say, noting that his bloc’s priorities are “totally not related to taking part in the government or not.”

“We do not reject participation but we’re not also calling for it,” he added.