Govt. Delay to Protract as Aoun, Hariri Head Abroad

Paralysis is once anew engulfing the government formation process, on the eve of foreign trips by President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, al-Hayat daily said on Sunday.

“The formation of the Cabinet has been postponed indefinitely in light of the scheduled foreign trips,” the newspaper reported, adding that Aoun is scheduled to make three foreign trips in the coming weeks whereas Hariri will leave for The Hague to follow up on the sessions of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Al-Hayat said Aoun meanwhile will travel to Strasbourg early next week to deliver a speech at the European parliament.

“Communication between the president and the PM-designate is still ongoing and they will follow up on the issue after their return from abroad according to a unified standard,” Strong Lebanon bloc MP Elias Bou Saab told the daily.

This also was confirmed by senior al-Mustaqbal Movement official ex-MP Mustafa Alloush.

“There are currently no new developments regarding the government, especially amid the travel of the two leaders, and the formation process will be delayed until after their return,” Alloush said.