A Hezbollah veto on granting the Lebanese Forces a key ministerial post is presenting Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri with a major hurdle that could delay the birth of a national accord government before Independence Day, sources close to the Cabinet formation process said Tuesday. “The Lebanese Forces’ representation is the last remaining obstacle in premier Hariri’s attempts to form a new government before Independence Day. The problem over the LF representation has been caused by a Hezbollah veto which strongly opposes that the LF be allotted either the Defense or Foreign ministries,” a source close to the Cabinet formation process told The Daily Star.
The Hezbollah veto against the LF was relayed recently by the party’s security official Wafik Safa to caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, the source said.
The source noted that Safa’s move was in sharp contrast with Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s recent declaration that the party has authorized Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to negotiate with Hariri over the share of the two main Shiite parties, Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, in the new government.
Asked if Hariri will eventually be able to unveil a Cabinet lineup before Independence Day on Nov. 22 as he, President Michel Aoun and Berri are hoping for, the source said: “This looks uncertain unless the problem over the LF representation is solved.”
For his part, Berri said the Cabinet formation process is making progress, but noted that “there are some sticking matters that are being sorted out.”
Asked if these matters are difficult to solve, Berri was quoted as saying by visitors to his Ain al-Tineh residence: “There are no big or small obstacles. One obstacle, regardless of its size, can delay the Cabinet formation.”
“We are still making efforts so that the Cabinet can be formed before Independence Day,” he said.
Berri stressed that Hariri’s efforts are now geared toward forming a 24-member Cabinet, thus dropping the 30-member Cabinet option. “The state ministers in a 30-member Cabinet are the only ones who do not constitute an obstacle in its formation,” he said.
LF deputy chief MP George Adwan warned Monday that his party, which is allied with the Future Movement and the Free Patriotic Movement, would not join the new government if it was not allotted a “sovereign” ministry, indicating that this was the price for LF chief Samir Geagea’s endorsement of Aoun’s candidacy for the presidency. LF MP Antoine Zahra accused some groups, which he did not name, of seeking to exclude the Christian party from the new government.
“There are some parties that are trying to isolate and exclude the LF from the government,” Zahra told The Daily Star.
Asked if the LF insists on being allotted a “sovereign” ministerial portfolio as a condition for its participation in the new government, Zahra said: “The LF’s real position and demands have been relayed to the president and the prime minister-designate. The Cabinet formation cannot be achieved by media rhetoric and statements.” He refused to disclose the LF’s demands or conditions for joining the government.
Zahra also declined to comment on the results of Monday’s meeting between Geagea and two of Hariri’s aides, Nader Hariri, the chief of Hariri’s staff, and former MP Ghattas Khoury, in attempt to solve the problem of LF representation.
Political sources said Geagea’s meeting with Nader Hariri and Khoury yielded “positive results” that could help resolve the issue.
Despite the lingering snags over LF representation, Zahra said he expected a 24-member Cabinet to be formed before Independence Day.
“Independence Day is an occasion for Lebanon to present itself as a united country in the presence of a newly elected president, a new government and a Parliament speaker,” he said.
During the presidential vacuum, caused by Parliament’s failure to elect a new head of state and lasting two and a half years, Lebanon did not commemorate its National Day with the usual military parade as it had done in the past.
Meanwhile, the Future Movement’s parliamentary bloc renewed its call on various political blocs to help in facilitating the formation of a new government. “The Lebanese are awaiting the birth of the government in order to revitalize the country and compensate the losses and negative impact it suffered during the period of the presidential vacuum,” the bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting chaired by former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
“The unfavorable international and regional developments and also the impact of socioeconomic conditions call for a speedy formation of a government,” it said.
The bloc added that the new government will have to tackle a host of issues, at the top of which is to restore confidence in the state and its institutions and strengthen efforts to improve the deteriorating socioeconomic conditions.
“The new government will also have to work to approve a law for parliamentary elections which should be held on time without any delay and also work to prepare the draft state budget,” the statement said.
In addition to solving the problem over the LF’s representation, Hariri is trying to reconcile conflicting demands by various blocs for other much-coveted key ministerial posts such the Energy, Telecommunications, Public Works and Justice ministries. Both Berri and Hariri are reported to be insisting that the Kataeb Party and the Marada Movement be represented in the new government.
Former President Amine Gemayel called after meeting Aoun for an effective Kataeb participation in the new government.
“For 80 years, the Kataeb [Party] has been keen on national interest. If we wanted to serve the country’s interest, it is essential for the Kataeb to be active and effective in the new government,” Gemayel told reporters after meeting Aoun at Baabda Palace.
“I would like to stress that it is in the interest of [Aoun’s] mandate for the Kataeb to be active and effective in this government.”
By Hussein Dakroub
