With the formation of Lebanon's new government arises the differences between political parties over the distribution of governmental portfolios.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri assured the Lebanese that the government will be formed before the end of the year, as he slammed reports alleging that its formation will be lengthy, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.

MP Oqab Saqr, who is close to Premier-designate Saad Hariri, announced Thursday that Lebanon's new president was not purely “made in Lebanon.”

Supporters of al-Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri took to the streets across Lebanon after his appointment as Prime Miniser-designate on Thursday, waving Lebanese flags and huge sky-blue flags bearing his portrait, as fireworks lit up the sky over the capital Beirut and several regions.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Thursday congratulated al-Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri on his appointment as Prime Minister-designate, hoping this will be followed by “the swift formation of a Cabinet.”

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri held consultations with the country's former premiers on Thursday evening in line with a long-standing Lebanese norm of visiting ex-PMs in the wake of the designation of any new premier.

Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc called Thursday for preserving “the elements of strength represented in the army, the people and the resistance” in order to “continue the liberation of the rest of the occupied Lebanese land, protect the country and preserve its national sovereignty.”

Lebanon's new prime minister Saad Hariri, the son of former billionaire premier Rafik Hariri, is a vociferous critic of Hizbullah and the Syrian regime which he blames for his father's assassination.

Former prime minister Saad Hariri was nominated Thursday to form Lebanon's next government but the process is likely to be hampered by deep differences with Hizbullah.
Hariri's nomination and the election of a president after a vacuum of more than two years have raised hopes that Lebanon can begin tackling challenges including a stagnant economy, a moribund political class and the influx of over a million Syrian refugees.

Newly designated Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced after his designation on Thursday that he will begin his national duty with openness to all political blocs even those that abstained from naming him, as he assured that he will form a national unity government.
“President of the Republic General Michel Aoun honored me by asking me to form the government. I accepted, and would like to thank him for his confidence and the confidence of the deputies who honored me with this national assignment. I will be open to all parliamentary blocs, including those who did not name me, in accordance with our constitution and our democratic values,” said Hariri from Baabda Palace.
