Calm Prevails in Cabinet Ahead of ‘Political Storm’ on STL Funding
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
A lack of verbal clashes at the cabinet session that tackled the 2012 draft state budget on Tuesday was described by parliamentary sources as “the calm before the political storm.”
The sources said that the calm during the session came amid expected “political storms” when cabinet ministers begin debating the issue of the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Tuesday’s session, headed by President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace, was the first in a series of meetings that the government will hold to discuss the budget drafted by Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi.
It has been criticized by major parties for including a Value Added Tax hike. It also includes allocations to pay around $32 million of Lebanon’s share to the STL that is set to try ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s suspected assassins.
Information Minister Walid al-Daouq told reporters after the session that the ministers will make their proposals to the draft budget within a week and then workshops will be held to study each suggestion.
Ministerial sources told As Safir daily that despite the calm that prevailed during Tuesday’s session, the debate would rage as discussions focus on the VAT hike.
The sources expected several ministers to suggest alternative taxes to steer the citizens clear from further burdens.
They said the ministers would likely tackle the STL funding after discussing all other articles in the draft budget, particularly that Premier Najib Miqati knows the issue won’t be approved either through consensus or through voting.
Some ministers might propose to withdraw the article from the draft budget, they added.
19 October 2011, 11:01
05
these are preparations to confront the STL:
- government will resign and they are preparing Karame to take over
- Hizbushaitan is discussing support of Russia to veto any resolution against Lebanon in the UN as it will refuse the STL.
hizbushaitan is trying whatever they can against the STL.
the unknown is Jumblat position.....
19 October 2011, 11:26
70
the analysis of the halucinatory zionist information war department is as always wortless
19 October 2011, 11:53
05
Mountain of Head Lice, i.e. jabalamel
The analysis of your brain - after years of chemical use while trying, in vain, to get rid of your chronic head lice problem - reveals serious damage to whatever little brain is left. Those powerful chemicals must have had a nefarious effect on your ability to use vocabulary and to build sentences that do not contain words like Zionist, war and propaganda.
19 October 2011, 13:01
30
Storm, calm, in between... Whatever. No funding means NO FUNDING wel sama zar2a, khadra, 7amra, safra, sawda... End of story. rou7o l3abo bel arb3a. The party and the Party are both over.
19 October 2011, 13:56
30
the halucinatory zionist information war department is infested with lice and is transfering it's problem to an nahar comments section
19 October 2011, 15:52
02
@habal
I like ice cream...
Does this mean that i'm from the zionist war info....??
YA AHBAL!
19 October 2011, 16:23
02
@Patriot
just a clarification: what I forwarded was a simplistic summary avoiding going into the 3rd option, which is currently Very much on the plate (if you revert to articles in today's press).
neither Russia nor China will sponsor these murderors hizbushaitan, and the only alternative I can currently see left for the syro/iranians is to start a war with israel.
as with any war, it will then allow them to sit on the negotiations table, and maybe reach a deal so they can stay.
unfortunately for them, such a war will be anihilating, and there is no way anyone will accept to sit down with them to discuss anything. the end result is they both have to leave.
one would have wished the assad regime would leave "peacefully" and hizbushaitan would have given up its weapons, but they are as suicidal as kadhafi.
I foresee that we will be the ones who will pay again the destruction of our country, and I wonder if anyone has any money left to give us to rebuild again :(
