Geagea Accuses March 8 of Hindering Cabinet Formation Process to Appease Aoun
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has accused the March 8 alliance of obstructing the formation of the new cabinet to stand by Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun.
In an interview with An Nahar daily published on Thursday, Geagea said: The March 8 team is obstructing the all-embracing government whether intentionally or not or based on Hizbullah's willingness to stand by Aoun.”
Aoun has rejected the rotation of portfolios in the cabinet, sticking to the energy and telecommunications ministries that are part of the share of his Change and Reform bloc in the resigned government of caretaker Premier Najib Miqati.
President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam “should immediately announce a neutral cabinet,” said Geagea, who has rejected to participate in an all-embracing government.
The LF chief has been sticking to his demand for a non partisan cabinet, saying it is the only one capable of creating stability in the country and distancing itself from the logic of division of shares.
Geagea told An Nahar that only a neutral government can facilitate the presidential elections process.
“If it was an all-embracing government, then it could stay in power for long and would not speed up the election of a president,” he said.
Suleiman's six-year term ends in May. The constitution states that the parliament should start meeting on March 25 to elect a new head of state.
Suleiman and Salam have now the excuse to form the neutral cabinet, Geagea said, after the negotiations on the formation of the all-embracing government led to no result.
“They can ask Hizbullah if it was capable of convincing its allies” on the agreement reached between the rival parties to have a cabinet based on the 8-8-8 formula and the rotation of portfolios, he said.
“If Hizbullah answered them that I was not capable to do so, then the neutral cabinet should be announced,” Geagea added.
30 January 2014, 07:53
811
Aoun is asking for assurances that he will be the next president in exchange to accepting a cabinet :)
he is dreaming :)
30 January 2014, 08:12
175
Geagea was the one whi wouldn't accept a cabinet to begin with, yet he still points his fingers out.
30 January 2014, 08:48
514
Mystic is the biggest Assad bootlicker on this site and he is very proud of that fact.
30 January 2014, 09:01
153
It served Geagea right to be in the Syrian prisons, he should've stayed there for life.
30 January 2014, 08:45
612
Well if it isn't the ferocious man-eater himself… M8 stands by Aoun? Berri can't stand him and Nasrallah thinks Aoun is a fly buzzing around his beard.
Mr. snore not too long ago your where posting that Hizbullah was the only real block and that you where not going to support any other. But now you are on the FPM bandwagon and they are the block to support.
30 January 2014, 08:54
710
“If Hizbullah answered them that I was not capable to do so, then the neutral cabinet should be announced,”… that is a logical statement. Geagea is sticking to his principals with regards to the Iranian militia and its war on behalf of Assad, so he is stepping out of the way. Aoun has no principles, he wants what he wants and could careless about anyone ells.
30 January 2014, 09:02
711
The big snore is really hilarious "the General of the Lebanese army" :-))))
Aoun will not be remembered as the Napoleon of Lebanon, he will go down in history as the running general.
30 January 2014, 09:14
711
Give it a rest Mr snore… the Lunatic Aoun's epitaph will read "after running away from Assad Sr's boot, he slinked back to kiss Assad Jr's boot"
30 January 2014, 15:43
53
Who ever heard of a party leader demanding certain Ministries for his party and threatening to obstruct formation of a government until he gets his way? Where does this happen other than in Lebanon? And who does Aoun want to head the ministry other than his relatives. Its raw nepotism at its worst. The veils are off of this. He doesn't demand the portfolios because of some heightened degree of competence known only to Aoun's nominee, this is Gebran Basil, don't forget.
Rather, it is because these ministries are a source of private profit for the Aoun family which runs FPM and so any effort to give the portfolios to others, is taken as a direct assault on FPM.
30 January 2014, 15:45
42
Granted Berri and AMAL do the very same thing with their ministerial portfolios, milk the ministries for party revenues and stuff them with AMAL party hangers on and Aoun and Berri are in tough competition with each other in Jezzine for votes.
But the Government does not exist to serve the private interests of the political class. No the government exists to serve the people, and the politicians last.
