Jumblat Says 'No Government' without 'Shiite Duo'

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has announced that “there can be no government without the Shiite duo,” in reference to Hizbullah and Speaker Nabih Berri's AMAL Movement.

In an interview with the London-based, Saudi news website Elaph, Jumblat also said that “Saudi Arabia still cares about Lebanon.”

On Friday, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that his party will not join the new government should Berri refrain from taking part in it, noting that the parliament speaker is authorized to negotiate over “portfolios and shares” on behalf of the two parties.

And calling for the formation of a national unity government and “the cooperation of all forces,” Nasrallah pointed out that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri “has said that he will exert efforts in this direction.”

“After having facilitated the designation of a new premier, we are also keen on facilitating the formation of the new cabinet, but positivity, cooperation and non-exclusion are needed,” Nasrallah stressed.

Berri has hinted that he might join the ranks of the opposition if he was not satisfied with the ministerial portfolios that will be offered to his movement.

The speaker had also criticized the horsetrading that preceded Hariri's endorsement of Free Patriotic Movement founder Michel Aoun for the presidency.

Aoun was elected Lebanon's 13th president last Monday while Hariri was named PM-designate on Thursday.

In a sign that Hariri's task ahead might not be easy, Hizbullah's MPs declined to endorse him for the prime minister post, even though his nomination was all-but-assured.

Hariri is likely to struggle with his government's policy statement, which will have to make reference to Israel, as well as the war in Syria, both potential flashpoints with Hizbullah.

The process of forming a government could take months, with horsetrading likely to revolve around the distribution of key posts like the finance, defense and energy ministries.