Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai Sunday lambasted Lebanon’s politicians for obstructing the government formation and aiming to “seize the remains” of the state.
“Is this persistence to obstruct the government formation and recklessness toward the interests of the people and the nation, part of a plan to overthrow the State of Greater Lebanon to seize its remnants?” he said during his Sunday sermon.
Rai said that he could not find another goal for the obstruction that is accompanied by the systemic weakening of the financial situation. He accused leaders of impoverishing the people and turning them into “beggars,” in addition to forcing the well-educated youth to emigrate.
He called for an independent government to be formed.
Lebanon has been awaiting a new government to be formed since caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned on Aug. 10 in the aftermath of the Beirut Port blast.
Since Diab's resignation and a failed attempt by then-Prime Minister-designate Mustapha Adib to form a government, current Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has been scrambling to form a Cabinet at a highly critical moment for Lebanon as the economy and financial system continue to collapse along with rising poverty levels.
Adib was appointed under immense French pressure and was tasked with forming a “mission” government under the French initiative presented by President Emmanuel Macron to Lebanon’s leading political leaders on Sept. 2.
The French initiative aims to put Lebanon on a path of reforms that would eventually lead to unlocking urgent financial aid vital to shoring up the crumbling economy, burdened by a soaring public debt of over $90 billion.
The initiative also calls for resuming stalled talks with the International Monetary Fund over a $10 billion bailout package, amid rapidly shrinking foreign currency reserves at the Central Bank and a crashing Lebanese pound that has lost more than 80 percent of its value since last year.
Hariri is also currently forming a new Cabinet under the framework of the French initiative and different political forces who are participating in the government say they are committed to it.
Hariri has held a series of meetings since his designation on Oct. 22 with {resident Michel Aoun to speed up the Cabinet formation. The two leaders have agreed on an 18-member Cabinet of specialists and the rotation of the remaining three so-called “sovereign ministries” – Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs – and are currently working to distribute ministerial portfolios among the various sects.
Rival factions and opposing interests have impeded the formation process, viewed positively in its beginning stages. Horse-trading over key ministerial seats and deciding who names each minister, coupled with US-imposed sanctions on leading politicians have further complicated the process.
A French envoy met with Lebanon’s top leaders Thursday and Friday to follow up on the government formation process, calling on all sides to accelerate the formation to deliver urgent reforms.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
