In comments published by Al-Joumhouria Saturday, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said that the government was a “corpse waiting for someone to come replace it.”
Referring to Hezbollah, Hariri was quoted as saying to visitors that “others must make sacrifices ... for the sake of the country,” adding that he was in contact with the party, which was aware of the severity and risks of the current crisis.
Hariri blamed head of the Free Patriotic Movement Gebran Bassil for his role in obstructing reforms and "anything that was agreed upon with President Michel Aoun," saying “we were rushing to start CEDRE, but CEDRE was hampered because they did not accept reforms.”
Hariri ruled out war in the region.
“I do not see that there is war in the region. Because when people start talking about war, that actually means that there will be no war. Rather, I expect to reach a settlement and change in the region after the US presidential elections, but not before it,” Hariri was quoted as saying.
Lebanon is facing an economic collapse and has seen its national currency lose 80 percent of its value on the parallel market, dramatically reducing the purchasing power of most Lebanese, and has sunk more than half the population below the poverty line. The Lebanese pound hit another all-time low against the dollar Friday, trading at LL7,500, the worst devaluation in Lebanon’s history.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
