96 MPs Grant Salam's Cabinet Their Confidence as LF, Fattoush Vote Against

Prime Minister Tammam Salam on Thursday won a parliamentary vote of confidence after 96 MPs voted in favor of his government as the Lebanese Forces bloc and MP Nicolas Fattoush voted against.

Jamaa Islamiya's only representative in the legislature MP Imad al-Hout abstained from voting.

Only 101 out of 128 lawmakers were present during the vote. MP Nicolas Fattoush of Zahle and LF bloc MPs George Adwan, Elie Keyrouz, Tony Abou Khater and Shant Janjanian withheld their confidence from the cabinet while four of the bloc's eight members were absent.

“We thank the MPs for their valuable suggestions and we stress to them that this cabinet shares their national concerns. We promise that we will put the legitimate demands on the track of implementation,” Salam said in a speech that preceded the vote, responding to the lawmakers' remarks that were voiced during two days of discussions.

“Some of the speeches were not fair towards the cabinet because they asked it to do things that are beyond its capacity in this short period,” Salam added.

Defending the controversial wording of the cabinet's policy statement, the premier said: “We did not use concise clauses to be ambiguous but we rather sought to use a consensual language that resembles our government, which is the product of consensus among various forces and we did not promise things that we can't achieve.”

“Let no one think that our government is seeking to fill a presidential vacuum as it is rather seeking to revive our constitutional institutions and it believes that vacuum is the worst thing that can hit our political system,” Salam went on to say.

“Let no one expect miracles and we will do everything in our capacity to address the problems,” he said, calling for “strengthening accord so that it becomes a net of safety for our country."

“Zahleh was left out of this government and consequently deprived the participation of the most important Christian city in the Levant,” Fattoush said in his address before the parliament.

“The majority of decisions taken in Lebanon are done at foreign orders," he lamented.

“I cannot grant confidence to a cabinet that does not have a clear identity,” he said.

For his part, head of al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora noted that the cabinet “will not be in power for a long time, which should serve as an opportunity for us to cooperate to make its short term a success.”

“The cabinet should restore the role of the state and its institutions. Only then can we succeed in ending the crisis we are experiencing,” he added.

“We believe in a sovereign Lebanon and therefore will not pause at petty disputes,” he said. “We agreed to join this cabinet in spite of our deep differences because we believe in Lebanon's democracy and the Taef Accord,” Saniora stressed.

He underlined that his bloc remains committed to “confronting the spread of illegitimate arms,” emphasizing that “the army alone is the sole authority that can protect Lebanon."

"Our participation in this cabinet is aimed at achieving continuity in Lebanon and preventing the collapse of the state," Saniora stated.

Head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc then took to the podium, noting that “placing factional interests above national ones is unacceptable."

"The Israeli enemy poses a constant existential threat to Lebanon and our internal differences have distracted us from this danger," he said.

"In politics, the resistance is a fundamental factor in national consensus. This was highlighted in all cabinets since the adoption of the Taef Accord," Raad pointed out.

"The resistance will remain as long as Israel exists and occupies Lebanese land. The state regained its sovereignty thanks to the resistance," he said.

Raad stressed Hizbullah's keenness on "ensuring the success of this cabinet's mission," hoping that "the presidential elections will be held on time."

Phalange MP Fadi al-Haber was the first to address lawmakers and cabinet ministers on Thursday morning.

He granted the government his vote of confidence after calling for distancing Lebanon from wars and consolidating security by arming the military.

Al-Mustaqbal lawmaker Khaled al-Daher called on the state to spread its authority on all Lebanese territories.

He accused the army of being lenient with gunmen in certain areas while taking strong measures against their rivals in other regions.

Al-Daher seemed to be hinting that the military was supporting Shiite gunmen against their Sunni rivals.

“Your army is righteous even if it was unjust,” Speaker Nabih Berri responded.

"The resistance is the right of all the Lebanese. But all arms should be put under the authority of the state," al-Daher said.

He said he was giving his vote of confidence to the cabinet although the northern district of Akkar was deprived from a services minister.

Another member of the same parliamentary bloc, MP Ahmed Fatfat, criticized ex-PM Najib Miqati without naming him in his statement at parliament.

“He is the first to be held responsible for the deterioration of the security, economic and political situation in the country,” Fatfat said about Miqati, who is a Tripoli MP.

“It's been years that we've been calling for the deployment of the army on the border,” he said about the boundary with Syria.

“We then ask why arms are being smuggled across the border,” the MP added mockingly.

Salam interrupted him by saying security and military agencies should be held accountable if they commit mistakes "but we should liberate them from our political differences."

Fatfat, who gave his vote of confidence, later asked: 'If Hizbullah backs the army as it claims, then is it ready to hand over its weapons to it?”

He criticized the policy statement for not mentioning the Baabda Declaration.

His criticism drew a sharp retort from Miqati, who defended the performance of his cabinet.

Phalange MP Sami Gemayel, who was next, slammed Hizbullah without naming it, saying those who claimed they were fighting in Syria to prevent Takfiris from coming to Lebanon, have now allowed them to infiltrate into Lebanese territories after the fall of the Syrian town of Yabrud.

Syrian government troops have captured Yabrud, a town that had served for months as a main rebel logistics hub, with the support of Hizbullah, driving hundreds of Islamist fighters to Lebanon's northeastern border town of Arsal.

The Phalange “has a single objective in its presence in this cabinet and it's not partnership with the party that is destroying Lebanon,” Gemayel said.

“We are here to coordinate on all what we agree on in the interest of the Lebanese and to confront any effort to destroy Lebanon,” he added.

"Is it very difficult to deploy only 200 troops on the border with Syria to prevent smuggling and infiltration of gunmen?" he asked as he gave his vote of confidence.

Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan, whose party has refused to participate in the government, said: “We have reached a stage where we need a settlement to salvage the nation.”

“We want to seek with the rest of the factions ... to search for this settlement,” he said.

“The Lebanese entity is in danger,” he warned.

Addressing Hizbullah, the lawmaker said: “We should agree on our patriotic choices.”

“We don't want Hizbullah's arms to be part of the equation of the Lebanese state. We only want it to be used to fight Israel,” he said as he voted against Salam's cabinet.

Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah defended his party, saying "there wouldn't have been a state had there not been the resistance."

The government line-up was announced on February 15, after 10 months of political wrangling.

But another five weeks were needed for final parliamentary approval because of disagreement within the government over the thorny issues of resistance against Israel and the Baabda Declaration.

The March 14 camp had called for Hizbullah's arsenal arsenal of weapons to be brought under state supervision.

But Hizbullah wanted to enshrine its military role in the ministerial policy statement under a "people, state, resistance" formula that was rejected by the March 14 coalition.

Last week, the cabinet agreed a compromise formula that no longer accords Hizbullah a specific "resistance" role, yet affirms that all citizens have the "right to resist the Israeli occupation, repel its attacks and take back the occupied territory."

After all the time taken to form it, the new government's mandate is set to expire by May 25. That is the date by which parliament must vote on a new president, who will then choose a new government.