Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil on Tuesday urged the new government to “impose a monetary plan” and resist what he called the “blackmail” of both politicians and protesters.
“If the government wants to overcome the crisis and this is still possible, it has to raise its voice… and it should not bow to the blackmail of politicians seeking to keep their privileges nor to the blackmail of street protesters voicing unjustified political demands,” Bassil said in a speech before parliament as MPs debated Cabinet’s policy statement ahead of a confidence vote.

The head of Hizbullah’s parliamentary bloc MP Mohammed Raad on Tuesday announced that his party will grant confidence to Hassan Diab’s government although it “does not resemble” the Hizbullah-led political camp.
“With all due honesty and clarity, this government does not resemble our political camp, but we all accepted it to facilitate the formation mission and we are confident that the visions can be reconciled among its components,” Raad said in a speech before parliament.

The parliamentary blocs of the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party on Tuesday attended a parliamentary session to debate Cabinet’s policy statement but announced that they will not grant confidence to the new government.
“The economic and social situations were much better during the war and certainly no one wants war’s return, but is it acceptable to face what we’re facing during peacetime?” MP Sethrida Geagea of the LF said in a speech before parliament.

Lawmaker Salim Saadeh was injured and hospitalized on Tuesday when his car came under an attack by protesters in Downtown Beirut.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Tuesday that the Parliament session dedicated for a Cabinet confidence vote and discuss the Policy Statement secured quorum with 67 lawmakers attending at the opening.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Tuesday vowed during a Cabinet confidence vote session to get Lebanon out of its economic and financial crisis, the worst since the end of the 1975-90 civil war, as protesters clashed with security forces outside the Parliament.

The new U.S. ambassador to Lebanon will arrive soon to Lebanon to replace Ambassador Elizabeth Richard after serving four years in office, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday.

Speaker Nabih Berri sees a need for help from the International Monetary Fund to draw a rescue plan for Lebanon’s crippling economy, media reports said on Tuesday.

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc announced Monday that it will take part in a Tuesday parliamentary session to debate Cabinet’s policy statement and vote on confidence in the new government.
The bloc, however, said that it will not grant confidence to Hassan Diab’s government because “it has nothing to do with what the Lebanese are demanding.”

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri lashed out Monday at the Free Patriotic Movement, saying it failed to make a single economic achievement over the past 30 years.
“To all those who criticize ‘political Harirism’, especially the FPM, tell me about a single economic achievement for the FPM over the past 30 years,” Hariri said in a chat with reporters that followed a meeting for the al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc.
